Something Like A Love Story
by ThatHPFan
Summary: Fledge struggles to find his footing as he grows and changes, formed by the relationships he shares with his friends, enemies, and lovers. SLASH. A companion/sequel to my Pipit/Link story "Never Doubt I Love". A series of shorts UPDATED DAILY. M for language, mild violence, and plenty of boy-on-boy action. Chapter 29: Fledge shares the stars with Keet.
1. Problem Solving

Author's Note: Hello everyone! If you are a new reader, welcome! If you are returning, welcome back! This story is a sort of companion piece to my longer _Never Doubt I Love_ that was published around this time last year. Though I do recommend reading that one first, it is not absolutely essential. While _Never Doubt I Love_ is strongly centered around the Pipit/Link pairing, this story explores that story through Fledge's point of view, revealing his feelings for Link, revisiting some scenes in _Never Doubt I Love_ through Fledge's eyes, following him as he meets Keet, and continuing past the ending of _Never Doubt I Love_ as Fleet develops.

This story will be formatted differently, with chapters functioning as short vignettes (ranging from around six hundred to three thousand words) that are presented in chronological order but are not always back-to-back. I'm about halfway through (I've got ten chapters) and will update daily through completion.

Oh, by the way, this story is M rated for a reason; vulgar language, some violence, and copious amounts of explicit boy on boy action.

That's all I have to say about that. I hope you enjoy this foray into Fledge's conscious. Let's get to it.

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Disclaimer: I am in no way claiming ownership over the Legend of Zelda franchise or making money with this story. No copyright infringement is intended.

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"Link, I've heard enough about Pipit. We're all worried about him, and we're all excited to see him when he gets back, but in the meantime we go about our lives. He's only been gone for a few days. Now tell me if I should keep this skirt or throw it out with the rest of these."

Fledge watched as Zelda stood in front of her mirror modelling the flowery pink skirt she had just wrenched from her desperately overstocked wardrobe. She turned to face Link, who sitting on her desk atop a pile of discarded clothes.

Sighing, Link looked her over mechanically. "It fits well enough but makes you look like a little girl." He turned to Fledge unexpectedly. "What do you think, Fledge?"

Lounging on Zelda's bed beside the open window, Fledge had been more than content to lay back and watch the clouds pass as he listened to his friends banter on. In the days when their group was seven, he and Piper had passed as the quiet ones. Karane and Peatrice had left following Pipit's departure, however, and he was now expected to take up some of the conversational slack that resulted.

He blushed, looking Zelda over critically. "I don't really know about this stuff. Why do you want my opinion anyway?"

"Well, I figured you could weigh in as the group's only remaining male heterosexual. With Pipit gone you've got to be the man of the house."

Fledge could swear that he saw Zelda's eyes glace to Piper, who sat at the edge of the bed beside Link. Not wishing to bring it up in front of Link, however, he replied, "I like it. It preserves some of her innocence."

"Yeah, the little that's left," Link grunted in disapproval.

"Excuse me? I am far more innocent then you. I've never even had a boyfriend."

"Yeah, because every guy knows you're the biggest whore on Skyloft." He ducked as Zelda jokingly slapped him and then stood up. "I'm not going to sit here and take your abuse. I'm going to the bathroom."

Fledge watched Link as the other boy strode for the door, and his eyes lingered on the door for a moment after it closed. He sighed inwardly, closing his eyes to imagine Link beside him, holding him to his chest and whispering that he loved him.

Zelda's voice broke him out of his reverie. "So, do you want to talk about it?"

Looking up, startled, Fledge stuttered, "Talk about what?"

He felt the blood immediately rush to his cheeks and he glanced to Piper nervously. She shrugged and nodded to Zelda, making it clear to him that he would receive no help from her.

"I think you know what I mean."

"Look, Zelda, I –"

"Fledge, we both know already," Piper said suddenly. He turned to her, confused, and saw the laughter in her eyes as she watched him.

He stammered, "I really don't know what you're talking about. What do you already know?" Deep down inside, he knew exactly what they meant. He had seen them earlier and had known then, immediately. Still, it was difficult to say it aloud and in front of others, especially with no practice or preparation.

"Fledge, I'm not going to say it for you, but I want to hear it from you. Enough people have noticed now, and it's only a matter of time before _he_ does too."

"Who has noticed?"

Piper rolled her eyes. "Well, Pipit asked us about it the night before he left."

"Yeah, and Karane and Peatrice asked us the day before that."

"What did they ask you?"

"Zelda sat beside him on the bed and rested her hand on his knee. "Fledge, I'm not going to say it for you," she repeated. "We both know what I'm talking about, but I want to hear you say it."

Fledge fidgeted uncomfortably, glancing between Zelda and Piper. He looked to the door, almost hoping that Link would return to buy him some time to think the situation over, but it remained stoically closed. "Zelda, I really don't think that I…"

"Well? That you what?"

He turned to Piper and she patted his arm sympathetically. "Zelda, maybe we shouldn't be pressuring him like this."

Fledge smiled gratefully, but Zelda just snorted. "Okay, if you don't want our help, then I guess I'll let you walk away from this without solving the problem."

She looked up to the ceiling innocently, and Fledge's eye twitched as he struggled to contain his annoyance. "What do you want from me, Zelda?" he shouted. "You want to hear me say it? Okay, fine, I'll say it! I have a crush on Link, alright? Are you happy now?"

He didn't give her a chance to answer, pushing her aside as he stood up and marched smartly to the door. He didn't look back as he slammed it behind him before turning and finding himself face-to-face with Link.

"Hey, Fledge. What's wrong?"

He shrugged, surprised with himself at his sudden burst of anger. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just feeling a bit weird and thought I'd better call it a night."

Link's sky blue eyes looked him over with concern, and Fledge bit his lip, fighting to keep the blood from rising to his cheeks. "Okay. I'll see you around?"

"Um… yeah, sure," Fledge muttered. He turned away but suddenly felt Link take his hand. His stomach fluttered and he turned back to Link with a shy smile.

The other boy stepped closer to him, and Fledge's breath caught in his throat. "Hey, what's really going on? Is there something you want to talk about?"

"No! It's like I said, I just don't feel very well."

Fledge looked into Link's eyes and lost himself, imagining bringing those perfect lips to his own, trailing his hands through Link's soft, wavy hair. "Okay, I hope you feel better. And just know that I'm always here to listen if you want to talk."


	2. Touches and Tears

Fledge sighed softly as he closed the bathroom door behind him. The soft thud was muffled by the heavy carpet underfoot, yet somehow still echoed through the empty silence of the dorm.

A much louder noise tore through the quiet, momentarily frightening Fledge. He turned sharply to see Link, cheeks stained with tears, running along the hallway blindly. He pushed past Fledge without giving him so much as a second glance and Fledge watched him as he reached his room and slammed the door behind him.

For a long moment, Fledge didn't quite know what to do. A part of him wanted to go after Link, to comfort him and tell him that he would be there to protect him. However, he knew that this was very unlike him, and the very thought made him nervous.

Another part of him, the part to which he normally listened, told him to go to his room and act like he hadn't seen Link. It wasn't his business, and he wanted no part of it. But that was a lie, and he knew it. It wasn't his business, but if Link stood to be hurt in some way, Fledge wanted every part of it. He was almost surprised with himself to find that he wanted to ensure that Link was going to be okay. Listening to the small part of himself that he normally ignored, Fledge made his way quietly to Link's room and knocked on the door.

There was no answer, but when he tried the handle he found that it opened eagerly to his touch.

The room within was dark, and Fledge stopped to allow his eyes to adjust. He closed the door behind him, becoming aware of the quiet weeping coming from a lump of sheets on the bed. He also became aware quite suddenly that he was severely intruding on Link's privacy. He blushed slightly on seeing the numerous pairs of dirty underwear that littered the floor, but quickly scolded himself.

Fledge stood for several minutes without making a single sound, coming to the conclusion that Link had not noticed his visitor. However, his crying had subsided, and he now only sniffled or heaved occasionally.

While he stood there, waiting for something the nature of which he didn't know, Fledge took stock of the surrounding room. It was larger than his by far, but still quite small. The window shutters were closed, but Fledge was familiar enough of the surrounding geography to know that his window opened onto nothing but the sky. The desk was unbearably cluttered, with piles of books, folded clothes, and papers shoved together in a precarious fashion. One cupboard door was open, and a small pile of clothes were thrown over it carelessly. In the mirror on the other door, Fledge could see himself standing in his old pajamas and looking exceptionally unattractive.

He decided that he couldn't very well just stand there like a creep all night watching Link sleep, so he set the towel and toiletries he'd been holding down beside the door and moved to the bed.

Tentatively, he sat down beside Link, closer to the other boy than he normally would have. Link's breathing became shallow and quiet, and Fledge knew that Link was now fully aware of his presence.

He took a deep breath.

Then, with a courage rising from the pit of his stomach, he reached forward and softly pulled the blanket away from Link's face, tender as if he were holding a sleeping baby. Link's face, though stricken with tears, made Fledge's breath quicken. He was so beautiful, and Fledge could only dream that one day such a face would be his to caress, hold, kiss…

But his eyes fluttered open, and in them Fledge saw a heart-wrenching pain that made him want nothing more than to take Link in his arms and hold him for the rest of their days. He didn't know what Link was going through, but he wanted to take the pain away.

"Link?" His voice sounded insurmountably small in the enormity of Link's pain. "Are you okay?" Link said nothing, simply looking at him with a blank expression. In a daring move, Fledge reached a hand and rested it on the side of Link's stomach. The touch sent shivers running through Fledge's body, but he concealed them. "Do you want to talk to someone?"

Link sighed and burrowed farther down into the blankets. Fledge quickly lifted his hand away from the other boy's stomach, but Link ended up nestling himself around where he was sitting, making him blush violently. "No," Link said stubbornly, like a disenchanted child.

Scooting down along the bed slightly, he pulled back the covers again, smiling at Link. "Link, what happened?"

Link scrabbled upright, sitting back against the pillows. Fledge was very aware that Link's knee rested against his hip. "Nothing," Link said vaguely. "I was just talking to Pipit." He ran a hand through his gorgeous hair before looking around nervously. "What time is it?"

"It's early in the morning. Why did talking to Pipit make you get upset? I mean, you talk to him all the time. Did he say something to you?"

Link's eyes slid away from Fledge's uneasily. "Sort of. I just got a little too emotional, that's all." He began to push back the blanket and sat beside Fledge for a moment. "I need to find Pipit to make things right." His hand rested very briefly on Fledge's, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from the other boy.

Too preoccupied with his thoughts, Link didn't notice. He quickly stood and made his way to the door, stepping carelessly over the laundry scattered across the floor. Abruptly, he turned back. "Thank you, Fledge."

With that, he left. Fledge couldn't believe what had just happened.

He looked around the empty room. His eyes rested on the pillows of the bed. This was where Link slept. He glanced at the underwear on the floor beside his foot. He resisted the urge to pick them up. He looked back at the bed. He resisted the urge to fall back and sleep, enveloped in Link's scent. He knew that would be disgustingly creepy.

And yet he couldn't help himself. He curled over at the edge of Link's bed, resting his head on the pillow. He shut his eyes and imagined for just a moment that Link was wrapped in his arms. He could almost feel the other boy's perfect skin and muscular arms beneath his fingers.

But, in a moment, it was gone. Fledge opened his eyes, and single tear fell from his cheek, landing noiselessly on Link's pillow. After a sad moment, he rose and left, turning out the light tenderly behind him.


	3. The Bitter Taste of Life

ReluctantHero – Thanks for the review! Regarding Piper, I broke the game canon in _Never Doubt I Love_ and made her part of the teenage group so that Zelda would have another girl after Karane and Peatrice left.

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The second day of school was by far more exhausting than the first. The first day of school was accompanied by the excitement of meeting new teachers and friends, beginning new classes, and generally adding activity to a life that had been static for weeks. The second day, however, was when the excitement wore off and left the students carrying the void left by the conclusion of summer.

Fledge felt that weight pressing hard against his shoulders as he trudged into his third class of the morning.

Zelda afforded him a sympathetic smile as he sunk into his desk beside her. "Hey Fledge. You look enthusiastic." He grunted, and she giggled. "So… have you heard about Link and Pipit?"

He glanced sharply at her. "No. What do you mean? What's going on with Link and Pipit?"

Leaning in towards him conspiratorially, she murmured, "Well, I'm not really supposed to tell anyone, but I know you aren't going to gossip to anyone else. Link went to talk to Pipit last night and found out that –" she looked around swiftly "– that Pipit is gay!"

Fledge gasped. "What? Are you sure?"

"That's what Link said!" Zelda exclaimed, nodding profusely before lowering her voice again. "And he told me that he's got a crush on Pipit."

In a moment, his world began to fall apart. His head spun, and he lost touch with the classroom in which they were sitting. He heard a loud bang echo through the fog of his brain and noticed that the professor had closed the door. He felt tears welling in his eyes and fought to keep them out, but he was overwhelmed. He felt the hope of a relationship with the man he loved slipping from his fingers.

Zelda snapped her fingers before her face. "Fledge? Look, Fledge, I know this might be hard for you to handle, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. That's why I decided to tell you in secret before you saw them together."

It was as though something large and hairy was crawling up from the bottom of his throat. He spluttered for a moment and then coughed. A tear escaped his eye, trailing its way down his cheek. Zelda wiped it away lovingly. "Fledge? Talk to me, sweetheart."

"I don't understand."

"What is it, honey?"

"Why does he get two boyfriends in a row and I'm doomed to live in the closet forever?" He buried his face in his arms, hunching over the desk.

Zelda smiled. "You know, Fledge, there is one way to take care of this."

He sniffled. "What?"

She rested her hand on his shoulder. "You can go to Link and tell him how you feel. I don't know if you're exactly his type – he likes more masculine guys like Pipit – but if you show him what a great guy you are before he gets too enamored with Pipit then you might be able to snag him."

Fledge could tell that, while her intentions were noble, her heart wasn't in her words. "Zelda, you know as well as I do that Link will never be interested in me. I'll just give up on my life."

"Oh, Fledge, I'm sure you'll find someone eventually. You just haven't found the right person yet. Just like me. In fact, there are lots of people who don't have a boyfriend, but they're doing just fine. And Karane can tell you that having a boyfriend isn't as great as you might think. Hell, even Link can tell you that."

He sighed and sat up. "Yeah, I guess."

She brightened up. "Besides, look at it this way: after school, you've got the whole rest of your life ahead of you! Who knows what will happen five, ten, or twenty years from now?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't help me now. The knowledge that in five or ten or twenty years I _might_ feel better makes no difference, because right now I feel like my life is coming to an end."

Laughing, Zelda rubbed his back. "I think you're being dramatic, but always remember that I'm right here beside you if you want to talk to someone."

He smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks."

"But seriously, I think you should tell Link how you feel. You won't get anywhere if you keep it all bottled up inside, and I think Link would respect you more for telling him."

Fledge bit his lip before groaning and slamming his face back into his hands. "I can't do it. You do it for me."

There was a moment of silence after he said this. Then, Zelda asked, "Really?"

He deliberated for a moment. "I mean – yeah, if you're offering. I'm never going to have the confidence to do it. You know that. But if he comes to me, then maybe I'll get somewhere."

He looked at her. She was no longer smiling. "Okay. I will, if you really want me to."

"But don't make a big deal about it. You can just sort of mention it to him casually."

She laughed. "Damn, I was planning on standing on the table at lunch and yelling it for the entire school to hear. Don't worry, Fledge, I can handle it. Are you really sure you want me to tell him?"

He gazed at his hands and sighed. Then he looked back at her and said, "Yes, I'm sure."


	4. Shower Encounters

_The Next Day…_

His eyes fluttered open blearily.

Fledge stretched and sat up unsteadily, pushing the sheets away as he did. After sitting there for a few moments, he trudged to his wardrobe. He swung open the door and looked over his naked body in the mirror. His skin was pale and freckled, and he had no muscle to speak of. His hair was thin and fuzzy, and his cheeks were cherry red. He hated everything about his appearance.

He grabbed the bag of toiletries from the top shelf of the wardrobe, pulled his towel from its hook on the inside of the door and wrapped it around his hips.

The halls of the dormitory were quiet. Fledge normally rose early to avoid sharing the showers with the other boys in his dorm. He stopped outside the door, however, and heard the distinct sound of a shower cutting on. He shrugged and opened the door. The bright light overwhelmed him for a moment, but what he saw next made him stop in shock.

Link stood, merely a few feet away from him, totally naked and looking embarrassed.

Fledge couldn't help himself. His eyes roved greedily over Link's exposed body. The boy's skin was fair and tan and perfect, without a single blemish, and it stretched tightly over his toned muscle. His torso was broad and smooth and his legs were long and thick. His ab muscles flowed down to a patch of brown curls and...

Well, Fledge tore his eyes away, blushing deeply. Link's face was equally red, and he ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Oh, hi Fledge…. What's going on?"

Fledge tried but failed to speak and instead forced his feet to move. He was sure to give Link a wide berth but couldn't help notice the intoxication aroma of the boy. He nodded curtly and ensured the shower curtain was pulled tightly before he removed his towel.

It was only then that he noticed his hung length, which had grown during his examination of Link's body. He could still hear the sound of Link walking around the bathroom and peeked through a crack at the edge of the curtain. Link was testing the water of the shower, and Fledge held his breath as he took in Link's perfect ass. He stroked his hardened length slowly, letting the fingers of his other hand flutter over his nipple.

Link stepped into the shower and drew the curtain, reminding Fledge that he needed to turn on the water in his own shower. He ran his hands over his body as the water sluiced across his skin, imagining that Link stood before him, imagining his hands running across the other boy's back, massaging his ass sensually.

He gasped softly and suddenly stopped stroking, praying that Link hadn't heard. Through the crack in the curtain he could see Link's soft perfect feet, and he began again, slowly thrusting his length into his encircled hand. He could hear Link in the other boy's stall, but it was no stretch to imagine the other boy in the shower with him. As he plowed his dick into his hand, he imagined that he was filling Link's ass. He imagined that he could hear Link's moans as the other boy pushed his ass greedily against Fledge's dick. He closed his eyes and quickly stroked his length, bringing himself to an endless ecstasy while trying to subdue his moans.

Fledge braced himself against the wall, gasping for breath with his hand still clamped around his throbbing dick. A few moments later, he remembered that he was supposed to be showering, and quickly soaped himself down.

Just minutes later, he turned the shower off. Link's was still running, and Fledge imagined himself walking over to the other boy's shower and joining him. His erection grew again, but he ignored it. Link's shower suddenly shut off, and his arm snaked out from behind the curtain to grab his towel from the hook beside the shower.

Fledge took this opportunity and snuck carefully past Link's shower towards the exit.

The other boy must have heard his soft footfalls, however, and he asked, "Fledge? Are you okay?"

Fledge paused at the door to the bathroom. He couldn't shake the thought that he and Link had been naked in the same room together for the last fifteen minutes.

"What? Oh – oh yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, is all. I haven't been sleeping well for the last few nights. It's probably just the stress of school and stuff."

"Yeah… Probably," Link said in response.

Fledge's eyes lingered on the other boy's feet for a moment before he shook his head, held his towel firmly around his waist and made his way back to his dorm.


	5. Action and Reaction

_Later That Day…_

A loud, angry knock resounded through the silent room. Fledge's eyes fluttered open and he laid still, as if waking suddenly from a deep sleep. He looked around the room, momentarily enjoying the comforting warmth of his bed, before he focused on the ray of sunlight that slipped through his curtains. That wasn't right. It was normally dark when he woke up.

He rose quickly, swearing as he tore the sheets away from his legs. The knock sounded again. "Yes, thanks, I'm coming now!" he called as he pulled on the nearest pair of underpants. As he found a pair of loose pants, the knock came for a third time, more violently than before, and he feared that the door might burst.

"For Hylia's sake," he muttered as he pulled on the pants and approached the door. He unlocked it with a sharp click and it blew open as if a bomb had gone off.

In that moment, Fledge was aware of three things. He was falling. Falling – but in a nonconsensual, malicious manner. It reminded him of the way in which he had fallen for Link, a sudden and violent action that he was unprepared for and utterly opposed to but hadn't the power to stop. He fell with operatic grace, and watched as if he were standing outside and looking through the window as his small, frail body crumbled to the floor in a hopeless, defeated heap.

He was aware of the silence. It was an overwhelming, panic-inducing, sanity-destroying sort of silence, and it engulfed him as completely as a tidal wave. It was what he felt as he battled with himself to express the feelings he felt for the other boy, not a receptive, comforting and expectant silence but a cold refusal to sympathize. As he fell to the floor, he stretched out his arms and felt nothing but the unforgiving silence.

And finally, he became aware of the pain. It surged through his body, buzzing through his ears and clenching the muscles in his legs and jaw. It came in waves from his temple and spread throughout his body, bringing tears to his eyes and making him cry out. The initial blow was followed by others that struck as he fell like the words of those in whom he had mistakenly confided. He cried out again and again as his body sustained blow after blow.

When his body was limp on the floor, he looked up through blurred, darkened vision to see Groose towering over him with a bruise over his eye.

"What are you looking at, you little faggot?" Fledge felt the other boy's foot collide with his rib and gasped, but breathing was too painful. Groose clambered atop him, straddling his stomach with his hands wrapped tightly around his neck.

"You want this?" Groose asked through clenched teeth. "You want to suck my cock? You want to ride my fucking dick you little faggot? Or are you too busy thinking of Link?"

Fledge tried to fight but the other boy was easily twice his size and had him pinned to the floor. He had only one arm free, but as he tried to push Groose off he grabbed it by the wrist. "You want my dick, Fledge? Here take, it. You'll regret ever even thinking about being gay when I'm finished with you."

Before Fledge knew what was happened, Groose pulled his cock out and forced his hand onto it. He wretched, disgusted, and redoubled his efforts to escape the other boy's grasp.

Groose's cock was hardening quickly, however, as he grew more enraged. "WHAT?" he screamed. "Don't you want my cock in your hand, Fledge? What about your mouth?" His fingers found their way to Fledge's mouth but Fledge bit down hard and Groose shouted in pain.

"Oh I'm gonna make you wish you hadn't done that, you little cock socket!" With that, Groose began trying to turn Fledge over while keeping him trapped between his legs. His hands tore at the other boy's loose pants, and Fledge screamed. With a sudden surge of strength, he threw his head back and slammed the back of his skull into Groose's nose.

Groose screamed again. "Oh fuck no, I didn't take it from Pipit and I sure as hell aren't gonna take it from you!" He groped for the other boy and his enormous hands found Fledge's neck in an instant.

He couldn't breathe as he was lifted from the floor, and moments later Groose slammed his nose into the edge of his desk. The pain was unimaginable, and he began to lose touch with consciousness. "How do you like that, huh? Don't want my cock? That's fine, I'll just shove it in your mouth once you black out."

The taste of blood filled his mouth and he cried out as Groose tightened his grip. His vision was dark, but he felt his head being forced forward again and vaguely heard a loud crack as it collided with the desk for a second time.

It was then that he slipped into blissful oblivion.


	6. Kissing Distance

_A Few Hours Later…_

When Fledge came to, he was vaguely aware that he couldn't see out of his left eye and that, with every breath he drew in, he felt a stabbing pain in his ribcage. Tears leaked from his eyes and blood dripped from the end of his nose, and he lay on the floor for a while, unwilling to move.

Eventually, he decided he had to do something.

Stretching his arm out was agony, but as soon as he lifted his upper body off of the ground he screamed in pain and collapsed, whimpering. Fresh tears flooded his eyes.

After a few minutes, he summoned the courage to try again. This time, he was ready for the pain, but it didn't make it any easier to bear. Sucking in a deep breath, he lifted himself up and grasped the edge of his bed, trying not to call out again. He managed to pull himself fully onto the bed and laid his head against the pillow, allowing his body to go limp. He felt a searing pain above his stomach and couldn't close his mouth properly, but he felt unconsciousness encroaching and submitted himself without a struggle.

He was roused but a sharp knock at the door.

There was less pain this time, although his jawbone and neck ached like a bitch. "Fledge?" a voice called, "Fledge are you in there?" He recognized the voice, as though he knew the speaker well, but couldn't place who it was. He rose slowly, doing his best to fight the pain in his ribs, and sat at the edge of his bed.

After a moment of silence, the voice called, "Why weren't you at school today, Fledge?" It was Link. Fledge was momentarily tempted to lay back down and ignore it, not wanting Link to see him in such a state, but he laboriously rose and shuffled towards the door.

Zelda and Piper stood to one side and gasped as the door swung open, but Fledge had eyes only for the boy in front of him. His expression contorted in anger as he looked Fledge over, but he could only smile grimly.

"Hi Link."

Fledge saw tears in the other boy's eyes and fought to keep them from his own as the three of them rushed forward and helped him sit back on the his bed. Link sat close beside him with Piper on his other side and Zelda at his knees, looking up at his disfigured face. "What happened?" Zelda asked, her voice fraught with anger.

Feeling blood pour down the back of his throat, Fledge coughed a very heavy, racking cough that threw spasms of pain throughout his body. "Its –"

Link interrupted him. "If you say 'It's nothing', Fledge…" When he didn't answer, Link asked, "Did Groose do this?"

He could only nod for a moment before a tiny "yes" escaped his lips. With that, he took in a great sob and Link pulled him close, wrapping him tightly in his firm arms as if to protect him from the world. Fledge sobbed again, breathing in the comforting smell of Link's tunic and wrapping his arms around the other boy's stomach. He felt Piper's hand on his back as he continued to sob, and Zelda rubbed his leg softly.

"Tell me what happened," Link asked calmly, trying to restrain his anger.

Fledge was unwilling to let go of the other boy, wishing he could spend the rest of his life in Link's arms, but eventually he broke away and sat up, still keeping his arm wrapped around Link's torso for support.

"I was late in this morning because I overslept." His cheeks pinked as he remembered the shower he had shared with Link. "I mean, I went back to sleep after our shower." As soon as he said it, he realized how it sounded, particularly out of context. He swiftly glanced at Piper and Zelda before looking back to Link, stammering, "I-I- I didn't m-mean _our_ shower, I just –"

Placing a hand on his thigh, Link cut him off. "Relax, Fledge, I know what you meant." Fledge felt butterflies in his stomach as Link rubbed his hand back and forth in an effort to comfort him. He grimaced and shuddered, smiling slightly all the same.

"Uh, anyway, so I got up and it was already past lunchtime, so I figured I'd skip the whole day." Link pulled his hand back, allowing Fledge to regain focus.

"I was just relaxing in here when someone knocked on my door. The funny thing was, I almost didn't answer it, but I decided I couldn't ignore it if it might be a teacher coming to make sure I was okay. So I opened the door, and the next thing I knew…" he trailed off, remembering the pain. Zelda patted his knee encouragingly. "Groose threw me onto the bed, screaming all kinds of horrible things… asking if I was… you know…" he gulped, and his next words were very small "…that way."

He pointedly looked away from Link.

"Anyway, I… I told him to go away and then he freaked out and started slamming my head into the desk and…" he debated whether to tell them exactly what Groose had said, but decided against it. "Well, you don't need to know the details."

Piper took a deep breath. "Why would he do that?" she pleaded, letting loose a tear.

"Because he's an elitist, pig-headed, self-righteous, narcissistic asshole who thinks we should all bow before his grace and majesty," Zelda snarled viciously. Then she turned to Fledge, saying, "We've got to take you to Headmaster Gaepora immediately, Fledge. Groose won't be able to get away with this."

Fledge nodded and made to get up, but the hand returned to his thigh and his eyes fluttered. "Zelda," Link started slowly, "I don't think Groose will have just come here without planning it." He looked around at the mostly tidy room, eyes lingering on the small bloodstain on the floor beneath Fledge's desk. Fledge knew that had come from his nose while he had been unconscious. "I'm not sure we'll be able to prove that he was here."

Link took Fledge's hand as Zelda spoke, but his breath caught in his throat and he missed what she said. Link's hand was soft and warm, comforting both in the I'm-here-for-you way and the I'll-kill-anyone-who-fucks-with-you way, and in that moment Fledge imagined holding Link's hand as their lives played out around them; their wedding, as their children played, as they aged together, in love forever and always.

He was jolted from his imagination by Link suddenly standing up, dropping his hand and becoming simultaneously the sexiest and most terrifyingly intimidating person Fledge had ever seen. "Are you accusing me of saying Fledge deserved what he got?" he asked icily, each syllable measured and deadly quiet.

Zelda looked at her lap meekly. "No, I'm sorry, I… that was a stupid thing to say." Link slowly lowered himself back beside Fledge, taking his hand again. "It's just that I think we should at least _try_."

Fledge was pulled into Link again as the other boy wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I'm really sorry about this, Fledge. This… this is my fault." He groaned in frustration and rested his cheek on Fledge's shoulder, squeezing his hand tighter. "I should have expected something like this to happen and come by to warn you."

"Why is this your fault?" Fledge asked, turning to Link. Link lifted his face and, in that moment, their mouths were only inches apart. _Definitely within kissing distance_ , Fledge thought to himself. He looked into Link's startlingly blue eyes as tension crackled between the two of them where they touched. Almost as he thought they were about to kiss, Zelda broke their reverie.

"It isn't. He's just being foolish." Fledge glanced sharply at her, irritated, as she explained what had happened between Groose and Pipit over lunch. "I never thought Groose would do something like… _this_ ," she finished, surveying Fledge up and down.

"I'm not surprised," Link muttered angrily, still gripping Fledge's hand. Fledge looked to him again, hoping to rekindle the moment they had just shared, but Zelda once again interrupted, standing laboriously.

"Well, for now we should get you to the infirmary." She took his hand and helped him stand, leaning heavily on Link for support. Piper rose anxiously as well, doing her best to hold him up from behind. "Why didn't you go there yourself?" Zelda asked critically.

Fledge blushed, looking at the floor. "I was doing fine on my own." On seeing Zelda's disbelieving expression, he glanced away again and murmured, "I didn't want to be a bother."

"A _bother_?" Link repeated, incredulous but firm. He rose slowly, adjusting himself under Fledge's arm to better support him. Fledge gasped slightly as Link's hand gripped his hip, pulling his trousers down slightly, but he tried to mask it with his pain (which was not difficult). "Come on, we're taking you to the infirmary."

Taking a hesitant step, Fledge was encouraged by Link to move forward and, together, the two of them made their way out of the room.

Though Fledge was happy to be so close to Link, to know that the other boy cared for him patiently and lovingly, he couldn't ignore the intense pain that threatened to overwhelm his conscious. Link practically carried him down the stairs of the dormitory, and Zelda took his other arm as they hobbled across the campus. Fledge was concerned that they would run into unsavory characters whom he would rather avoid given his current condition, but they saw no one. The sun warmed his skin after hours of lying on the stone floor of his room, but he was still chilled in his core and clung to Link for warmth.

Red spots danced across his vision as they approached the infirmary, and his breath came in increasingly labored gasps that each sent a wave of pain through his body. He whimpered slightly with each step, trying his best to mask the pain to appear stronger before his friends.

After depositing him in the infirmary and leaving him in Piper's care, Fledge watched as Link disappeared behind the door. His eyes lingered there until Piper returned, sitting on the bed beside him.

A moment passed, and then she sighed. "Fledge, you can't keep doing this to yourself."

His eyes stayed on the door for a moment longer before he turned to her slowly, trying to decide on how best to respond. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Oh, come on Fledge, don't play dumb with me. I've been watching you. The way you look at him, the way you act around him, the way you react when he touches you. Even through your pain and your injuries it shows."

He looked into her eyes as he fought back tears. Suddenly, it all came bursting forth. "I know. I know I can't keep this up. Look at me! I'm such a mess, pining after him like this. He can't even sit next to me without making me lose my train of thought. But he smells so good, Piper! He smells so good and he looks so good with his messy hair and his careless smile and his sparkling eyes. Oh god, I feel like a girl. I don't know what to do, I've never felt this way before about anyone, but I just can't resist."

Piper listened to him as he sobbed, mumbling hopelessly through his tears, and she took his hand when he fell into a desperate silence.

"Fledge, you've got to tell him how you feel."

"But Pipit –"

"Forget about Pipit. If you tell Link how you feel, then maybe something will happen. But you're not going to accomplish anything by silently longing for him until it destroys you from the inside. The very worst thing that could happen would be that Link is honest with you and tells you he's not attracted to you. But, come on, you know Link; he wouldn't be shitty about it. He'd be careful and understanding, and he'd still want to be friends.

Fledge sniffled. "But Link already knows… Zelda told him."

"I know, but if you talk to him about it, at least then it will all be out in the open. If the two of you are honest with one another, you can stop just hopelessly yearning for him."

Still downcast but comforted, Fledge smiled tentatively. A great weight settled into his stomach, the weight of knowing he would have to talk to Link eventually.

"Here comes the Matron," Piper said, rising. "I'm gonna get out of her way. I'll be back later, alright?" Fledge nodded, and Piper kissed his cheek. "I love you, buddy, and I'm always here for you. You know that, right?"

Fledge nodded. "Thanks, Piper."

She smiled slyly. "Don't mention it."

With that, she flounced airily to the door and disappeared.


	7. The Misery of Others

_10 Days Later…_

Fledge did not enjoy loud noise, large crowds, or being alone. He certainly didn't appreciate it when these three things all occurred at the same time.

He desperately searched through the crowd at the Lumpy Pumpkin for a familiar face, but he could barely distinguish any individuals in the crowd of drunken revelers, most of whom he didn't recognize. Of course, if things had gone his way, he would be nestled in his quiet dorm room with a warm cup of coffee and a good book, but Zelda's persuasive powers had worked their magic once again.

Sunset. She had told him to meet them at sunset at the entrance. He had been slogging his way through the crowds for the last fifteen minutes hoping to find Piper and Fado, but a glance at the sun as it dipped below the horizon told him it was time, and he began making his way back towards the Lumpy Pumpkin.

Not that he wanted to meet them at all.

Not that he wanted to spend a night with a forced smile plastered across his face to mask the pain he felt every time they touched. Every time they looked at one another.

He had told Zelda quite firmly that he did not wish to spend a night in quiet agony as Link and Pipit enjoyed their happy, public relationship. And yet here he was, preparing to do just that. Fantastic.

Through the crowd he suddenly saw Piper and gasped in relief. She caught his eye and smiled broadly, taking Fado by the hand and weaving towards him. "Hey Fledge!" she called as they drew closer, and he fought his way past a particularly obstinate group of younger girls to reach them.

"Hi Piper! I'm so glad I found you! I've been wandering around by myself for ages."

Piper tutted. "We've been keeping an eye out for you, and the others as well. Zelda told you we're supposed to meet at sunrise at the entrance, right?"

Nodding, Fledge shouted, "Yeah, I was just heading that way."

Fado leaned in and bellowed, "Hi Fledge!" over the noise of the party. Fledge smiled and greeted him nervously, straining to make himself heard, before Piper took his hand.

"Come on!" she called, "Let's go find the rest!" With that, they were off, Fledge trailing along behind Piper, surveying Fado as they walked. _Not my type_ , he thought to himself, _but he seems nice enough_. Fado had thick brown skin, darkened from his days as a farmhand, and he somehow managed to be intimidating muscular and comforting gentle all at once. Fledge noticed his firm ass as he strode along and resisted the urge to reach out and cup it in his hand; although Fado wasn't particularly attractive, he was not lacking in rear assets (as Link had been known to call them).

He smirked momentarily as he thought of Link and, more importantly, Link's ass, but this led him back to thoughts of Link and Pipit that wiped the expression from his face.

"Oh Pipit, there you are!" he heard Piper shout from the front. Fledge rolled his eyes, his quiet dislike for Pipit mounting, but surprised to find that he was alone. Link and Zelda were still on their way, he offered in explanation. Then he turned to Fledge.

"Hi Fledge. No date, eh?"

"No," Fledge laughed nervously. _No need to rub it in my face, dick_ , he added silently to himself. He glanced over Pipit critically as the other boy engaged Fado and Piper in conversation, wrinkling his nose with distaste. He simply couldn't understand what Link saw in him.

Pipit was stocky and thin, with poise that attempted unsuccessfully to create a rugged, manly charm. His hair was messy (but not good messy, bad messy – like doesn't-give-a-shit-about-his-appearance messy) and he had a ridiculous scruff of half-beard that made him look like a little boy pretending to be a man. His furtive, vomit-colored eyes looked beleaguered, whether by stress or sickness Fledge didn't know or care, and his rough, hairy fingers and droopy ears made him look like a monkey.

As he was surveying Pipit in the disgust, the other boy leaned in and said, "So, Fledge, see any girls you're thinking about going after?"

Fledge glared at him in amazement for a moment before recovering his wits. "Oh- uh… nope, not yet." _Don't try to be my friend, you don't even know what the fuck you're talking about_.

"Ah, not to worry. I'm sure we'll find you something by the end of the night!" Pipit winked, and Fledge could only smile politely to mask his seething rage. Piper watched dubiously and stepped in to distract Pipit.

Fado leaned toward him and muttered, "Just breathe, big guy. He's only trying his best. If he don' know the whole situation, well that's hardly his fault." He patted Fledge heavily on the shoulder and he felt his rage dissipated, glancing over Fado in surprise.

The larger boy smiled diplomatically, putting Fledge at ease, but at that moment, Pipit turned and exclaimed, "Link! I was looking for you!"

Fledge watched furiously as the two kissed. Link looked gorgeous, in a tight blue top that complimented his lean frame and black trousers that hugged his ass deliciously. His hair was artistically messy and his sky blue eyes gleamed from beneath it atop a sly, alluring smile that made Fledge's toes tingle. Fledge gazed at the other boy openly, but Link only had eyes for Pipit.

"Wow, we match," Pipit observed. _Well done, you noticed that you're both wearing the color blue. Boyfriend of the year._ "Zelda's work, I assume."

Zelda stepped back beside Fledge and admired the two of them. "Very good," she pronounced, glancing at him briefly as he made a noise of disgust. "Kudos to me on the outfits."

Fledge felt Fado's hand on his shoulder again, a gentle reminder to be merciful or at least civil, and restrained himself.

Piper leaned in and shouted, "You two make the cutest couple I've ever seen!"

He scoffed audibly and Zelda grabbed his hand, hissing "Relax" out of the corner of her mouth. "Except for us," Fado agreed, removing his hand from Fledge's shoulder to kiss Piper. Link and Pipit followed their example, kissing again, and Fledge resisted the urge to vomit.

Pointed coughing from Zelda roused Link's attention, and Fledge made direct eye contact with the other boy. In that moment, time froze around them and Fledge tried to communicate the hurt he felt at being tossed aside. Link's eyes were apologetic but merciless, clearly saying that Fledge would never be Pipit, would never get Link to himself. Fledge turned in disgust after a moment and stalked away. Piper caught his hand as he retreated, but he yanked it out of her grasp and continued on, losing himself in the crowd in seconds.

Fledge wandered aimlessly through the crowd for a while. If he were more irresponsible, he would give into his horny teenage urges and find a guy to fuck for the night. He looked around at some of the boys he passed; none of them reached Link's level of sexiness, but some were definitely cute enough.

However, he was not crazy and irresponsible, and he was definitely not over Link enough to fuck another guy. That would mean giving up hope on Link coming around (although, admittedly, the hope he had was very slim and decreasing by the minute).

Instead, he contented himself with pouring a small glass of punch and then making his way around to the back of the Lumpy Pumpkin.

It was quieter here, only inhabited by smaller groups who wanted to talk without the overwhelming crush of partygoers and the deafening music. The sun had set and the first stars were twinkling to life overhead, and Fledge sighed as he stared up at them, trying to forget his concerns about Link. He passed about fifteen minutes like this, eyeing groups of strangers from the surrounding islands, imagining the conversations he might spontaneously strike up if he had Link's confidence and charm.

He imagined that by now Zelda would probably be on the hunt for her own man, as he knew she would not suffer to spend the entire evening third wheeling Link and Pipit. Just when he was thinking it might be better off if he headed home, Zelda came around the corner a few steps ahead of Link and Pipit. He almost thought they wouldn't notice him when she kept on going past, but Link saw him and dragged Pipit in his direction.

"Hey, Fledge," he said unevenly, standing in front of him while Pipit looked around anxiously.

Zelda came flouncing up from behind, and Fledge guessed she'd already dipped into the party's supply of alcohol. "Link, Fledge isn't what I meant when I said I needed to find a man!" she giggled, sounding just a little tipsy.

Rolling his eyes, Link sat down on the ground in front of him, pulling Zelda down beside him. "Why don't we relax here for a minute, away from the noise." He glanced sharply at Fledge. "If that's okay with you?" Fledge nodded, and Link buried his face in his hands. "Damn, my head hurts."

"Sorry, my love, I know that I can be a burden when I'm the third wheel like this," Zelda said dramatically, throwing her arms around Link's neck and kissing his cheek and giggling wildly until he pushed her away.

"Zelda, get off of me, you haven't had that much to drink, and PIPIT WILL YOU STOP."

Fledge glanced at Pipit after watching Link closely. The other boy was standing with his back to them as if he were keeping watch, and he kept nervously glancing around as though at any moment they would have to bolt. At Link's words, he turned sharply.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Come sit down next to me. You look like you're watching for assassins. We're at a party for Hylia's sake."

"Yeah Pipit," Zelda trilled, "Your boyfriend isn't important enough to attract that kind of attention." Fledge thought he saw Link's eyes flash to him at the word 'boyfriend', but the other boy looked back to Pipit as he sat down at the edge of the group, holding Link's hand dutifully.

"So, Fledge," stared Zelda, lying down on the ground with her head at his feet, "What have you been getting up to?"

Fledge pointedly avoided Link's eye as he said, "Oh, just enjoying the party. I'm sure you've got much more to tell me."

"Yessir," Zelda intoned dutifully before pulling herself up beside him on the bench and pressing her lips against his ear, shielding them with her hand. "Pipit's acting weird, ducking out on us all the time, and Link doesn't know what the fuck is going on." With that, she started giggling uncontrollably. Link looked bemused, but he rolled his eyes in a good-natured manner nonetheless. Fledge sighed.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Pipit announced suddenly, pulling himself up and hurrying to the Lumpy Pumpkin.

Link and Zelda exchanged looks before rising in tandem. Fledge rose as well as Link said, "Let's get to the bottom of this." The three of them set off after Pipit.

As they walked, it occurred to Fledge that contention between Link and Pipit almost certainly improved his chances with Link. However, he banished this thought just as soon as it entered his head because he didn't want to see Link get hurt, and if that meant sacrificing him to Pipit, then that was for the best.

The inside of the Lumpy Pumpkin was packed, and the music was so loud Fledge couldn't hear his own thoughts. He couldn't make out any individuals in the crowd, and certainly couldn't see Pipit, but after a moment Link set of determinedly towards the bathrooms. Fledge grabbed Zelda's hand to avoid losing her, and she followed along behind as Link plowed through the throngs of people.

They ended up in the tiny hallway outside the bathrooms. Fledge saw Link listening at the bathroom door and looked questioningly at Zelda, but she had nothing to offer. After a moment, however, the door swung open, and Pipit stood in the frame, silhouette against the harsh lights of the bathroom. He looked at Link, then Zelda, then Fledge, and then back to Link before muttering "Oh shit."

Fledge lost what happened next.

He watched as Link cried and screamed, and wanted nothing more than to put his arms around him while he sobbed into his chest, stroking his hair and assuring him that it was all going to be okay. When Pipit stepped forward, Fledge bristled with anger and was preparing to speak up when he saw the other boy.

Keet.

He was thin and small, with light brown hair and flushed, rosy cheeks. His dark eyes were pained with the hurt of Pipit's betrayal, and Fledge could practically see the night sky in them. Keet wore a very short pair of shorts that failed dramatically to hide the raging hard on he was sporting, and wore no other clothing to speak of. He was not particularly muscular but very lean, and Fledge was transfixed by his sensual movements.

Enraptured by the other boy, Fledge was vaguely aware that they made eye contact as Keet strode past. The tent in his shorts looked even bigger the closer he came, and Fledge admired his small but solid ass as it bounced away. Fledge blushed as he became aware of his own arousal.

Fledge was jolted back into reality as Keet disappeared in the crowd by Link saying, "It's on you to fix it now" to Pipit before stalking away.

Pipit looked to Zelda desperately. "Zelda?" His voice cracked, and he sounded broken.

"Don't look at me, Pipit. I don't know what's going on here but you fucked up."

The other boy turned to Fledge. "Fledge?" he asked hopelessly.

Fledge looked into his face, this man who had destroyed the only boy Fledge cared about, and was overcome with a surge of anger. "What, Pipit? What could you possible want from me? How the fuck am I supposed to help you? Why the fuck would I even want to help you after we just discovered that you've been cheating on Link. I'm sorry, maybe you don't see what you've got right in front of you, but Link is one of the sexiest, funniest, friendliest, most charismatic people I know, and he loved you. God knows why, because, as far as I'm concerned, you're a piece of shit who's not fit to be wiped off Link's shoe, but he fucking loved you. And you couldn't see that for what it was. Maybe, instead of desperately pleading with other people for help, you should actually make an effort to fix this damn situation before I punch you in the fucking jaw."

He raised his fist as if to take a shot, but Zelda took his arm to quiet him. Pipit looked taken aback at such an uncharacteristic outburst from such a typically shy individual, but Fledge didn't care. Zelda steered him away, through the crowds and back out into the relative quiet of the night, where he slumped down on a bench.

Zelda was quiet for a moment before she let out a low hiss. "Feel better?" she asked. "I'll bet that's been building up for a long time. Not quite sure if you should have taken it out on Pipit…"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? They've been dating for a week and a half and already I could have treated him better. I would _never_ hurt Link like that."

He sighed deeply, letting out a lot of pent up emotion. "I wish I could get on a Loftwing and fly after him."

"Probably not the best idea, even if you could," Zelda said, sitting beside him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "I think Link probably needs some alone time. That all happened so fast, even I'm having trouble processing it all."

"It's not fair. Why does Link like Pipit over me?"

"I don't know, Fledge. That might change after tonight, though."

Fledge looked glum. "Yeah… except I don't want Link to choose me because he's been hurt by Pipit. I just want Link to be happy, and I would sacrifice a chance with Link if he could stay with Pipit and be happy."

Zelda looked fondly at him. "That's so sweet, Fledge." She kissed his cheek tenderly and rested her head on his shoulder.

"One thing's for sure," Fledge said.

"What's that?"

"I don't know what I expected would happen tonight, but that wasn't it."

Zelda laughed sadly, and the two of them sat there together under the star for what seemed like an eternity. Miles away, Link sped ever on atop Crimson. In the other direction, Pipit flew back to Skyloft, his eyes thick with tears. And not too far away, just around the corner and behind a tree, Keet was sucking the dick of a stranger he'd never met before, desperate to keep his mind off of the night's events.


	8. An Unexpected Surprise

_The Next Day…_

This was his first kiss. It was an experience Fledge knew he would never forget. He stood on his tiptoes, his body melting into the other boy's as they shared a violent intimacy that Fledge had never felt before. Strong hands raked through his hair as the other boy's lips crushed against his own in a tidal wave of electrified tension. His own hand found its way beneath the other boy's shirt and ran along abdominal muscles carved from stone. He whimpered.

He felt a firm hand grip his ass and gasped at the surprise. The other boy groaned through the kiss, slamming the door shut with his foot and shoving Fledge forcefully onto the bed.

"Link, what's going on?"

The other boy didn't answer as he crawled on top of him and tore his shirt off. Fledge suddenly became aware of his lack of muscle and pale skin, but Link didn't notice as he tore off his own shirt and threw it onto the floor. Fledge's mouth watered as his hands danced along Link's toned torso.

Link rested on his knees in between his legs, and he began to tug at Fledge's trousers as he crawled forward to prolong the kiss. "Do you want this, Fledge?" he asked.

Fledge couldn't help but feel confused. He was definitely aroused, and he'd dreamt about this day for months, but for it to actually happen was something he hadn't considered, hadn't prepared for. In his imagination, he'd always gone to Link to profess his love, happily finding that their feelings were shared. Never had he thought that Link would come to him, late at night, with five words and a kiss.

Nevertheless, he nodded eagerly and Link ripped his trousers off, exposing his hard length. Suddenly, Link enveloped him in another kiss and Fledge felt the other boy's hand wrap around his throbbing dick. He groaned lustfully as his eyes rolled back into his head. Through the kiss, Fledge's hands worked furiously to pull Link's dick from out of his trousers, but he couldn't get far enough before he lost himself to Link's hands.

Despite his ecstasy, Fledge sensed something different in their kiss. It had lost the violent electricity that Link had brought at first, and had turned into two pairs of lips colliding sloppily. Link broke free of the kiss and trailed his tongue along Fledge's stomach towards his throbbing dick. Fledge squirmed beneath Link's strong hold, eager to go further. However, Link stopped with his mouth just inches away from stiff length. Fledge waited expectantly, but Link suddenly jerked his head away.

He rose in a dazed rush, standing awkwardly over the bed and staring at Fledge's cock. He looked sick, as though he was about to throw up violently. "Oh Goddess," he said suddenly. He turned wildly towards Fledge's closet as though looking for an exit. "I'm sorry, Fledge, but I can't do this." He spun again and yanked the door open. "I'm sorry," he said again, backing out of the room.

As the door slammed shut behind him, Fledge wasn't sure what to do. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling until he realized that Link had left his shirt piled on the floor in a heap.

He reached down and picked it up tentatively. After a moment of simply gazing at it, he took a small sniff of the delicious aroma that he'd only caught snatches of at school. Then, disgusted with himself, he threw the shirt back onto the floor. He curled beneath the sheets and tried to sleep.

A few minutes later, however, he heard a quiet knock at his door. "Fledge?" He recognized Zelda's voice.

"I'm in here, Zelda," he said from within his cocoon of blankets. He heard the door open slowly, and then Zelda sat down softly at the foot of his bed. She sighed.

"Link was here, wasn't he?" she said, picking up his shirt.

Fledge nodded.

"Tell me what happened, Fledge."

He said nothing. He simply turned over, wrapping the sheets more tightly around himself, and stuffed his face into his pillow as if he could suffocate the memories away.

"Fledge, you need to tell me what Link did. He was pissed off when he left my room."

Taking a deep breath, Fledge turned so that he could see Zelda. He hesitated for a moment before the story spilled out. "As soon as I opened the door, his lips were on mine. We kissed until he closed the door and pushed me onto the bed. We kissed some more, but then he pulled my trousers down and… well, he touched me… and I thought maybe he was going to use his mouth, but then he stopped. He said he couldn't do it. And then he left," he added unnecessarily.

She sighed and wrapped him into a hug. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, Fledge. Link should know better than to take his anger out on people like you."

As she held him, he sniffed, drinking in the comforting scent he'd always associated with his mother. He held her closer and sobbed while she flattened his hair comfortingly. Eventually, she made to get up. "Listen, Fledge, let me go talk to Link. Hopefully I'll make him see straight. Don't worry, this will all blow over soon."

She rose gently, bent to kiss his forehead, and then made her way to the door, picking up Link's shirt as she went.


	9. Shower Encounters Pt 2

_The Next Morning…_

When Fledge's eyes fluttered open, the sun had yet to rise and the sky was milky blue, still clinging to the last stars that had yet to fade with the rising daylight. He had slept poorly, tossing and turning with the rhythm of unpleasant dreams.

He lay in bed for several minutes, unwilling to accept that he was awake, but eventually had to face the truth.

Rising slowly, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched his shoulders, breathing deeply to somewhat ease the knot of stress he could feel settled within his stomach. He gathered his toiletries and made his way to the shower, closing his door quietly so as not to disturb the other residents of the dorm. As he walked past Link's door he watched it ruefully, resisting the temptation to reach out and knock. After what had happened the night before, he was in desperate need of some explanation.

Ultimately, he decided that it was too early to expect Link to even be awake, and he kept on moving towards to the bathrooms.

At the door, he listened closely for signs of movement within, but heard nothing. He took great care in opening the door loudly while pretending to be distracted with his toiletries, giving anyone within ample time to cover up, but when he looked up he saw that the bathrooms were deserted.

He kept his towel on securely until he entered the shower and pulled the curtain.

Letting the hot water of the shower sluice over his aching body, Fledge closed his eyes and tried to forget himself, imagining his life years from now, when he would look back and remember Link with a fond, nostalgic smile. He would have a husband then, not Link, and they would laugh as he told the story of how he came out, making fun of the teenage angst and drama that was currently consuming his existence.

Fledge could tell, after what had happened last night, that he and Link wouldn't work together. He had felt a distinct lack of _romance_ in their frantic kiss, and he knew Link had felt it too. At some point, it had stopped existing as a sensual expression of passion and had become a violent act of rebellion that had ultimately culminated in nothing.

So he wasn't Link's type. He supposed Link's actions last night had been fueled by anger and confusion towards Pipit, and he could understand that. Pipit wasn't his type, he reasoned, and that was only fair. As angry as he was with Pipit, he knew as well as anyone that Link and Pipit made sense together, and he also knew that Link wouldn't stay angry with Pipit, especially if the other boy made an effort to redeem himself. They had only been together for ten days, and yet it was clear to the most casual observer that they were smitten with one another. Or, it had been, before Keet had been thrown into the mix.

Thoughts of Keet had slowly begun to infiltrate his subconscious since the Fall Festival, distracting him partly from Link. He had only caught a brief glimpse of the other boy, but there was something so captivatingly erotic about him that Fledge couldn't shake the thought of him.

Still, Fledge knew it was foolish to think of Keet, as he was not likely to ever see the other boy again. He knew almost nothing about him, other than that he did not attend the Knight Academy and did not live on Skyloft. Oh, and that he had been fucking Pipit while Pipit had been in a relationship. Though he had a strange fixation on Keet and wanted to know more about him, he didn't know who to ask (and even if he did, his shy nature would prevent him from ever decisively asking after him).

Keet, however, served as a nice distraction to help him keep his mind off of Link and the hurt and confusion he felt regarding the whole affair. In a way, Keet was a third party just like Fledge, innocently dragged into Pipit's mess, and that made Fledge feel a connection with the other boy.

Fledge's hand began to fondle his soft length as he entertained thoughts of Keet, and he had just begun to find a rhythm of stroking when he heard the door open and someone enter the bathroom.

Curiously, he peaked through a gap in the curtain and saw one of his least favorite people in the world.

Groose was clearly still half asleep, and Fledge, despite his revulsion, watched from behind the curtain as he dropped his towel and threw his clothes down in a pile on the floor. He was hairy, but not too hairy, with a firm ass that sat proudly atop strong legs. As he turned around, Fledge only caught a glimpse of a thick patch of ginger curls before he stepped back, not wishing to get that familiar with Groose's naked form.

After a moment, Fledge heard the water cut on in Groose's shower and gave it another minute before he shut his own water off and hurried out of the bathroom, not wishing to arouse Groose's attention.

Fledge entered the hallways almost naked, wrapping a towel around his waist and struggling to maintain a hold of his various toiletries. He was freezing, leaving a trail of water behind him, but he was thankful to have escaped a run-in with Groose unscathed.

He turned a corner distractedly and suddenly came face to face with Link. He stopped disbelievingly before double-taking and blushing violently, becoming acutely aware of his state of near-nakedness. Thankfully he was not hard, but there was still a small bulge where the towel stretched over his privates. Link had no shirt but was at least wearing trousers, and Fledge did his best to avoid greedily scanning Link's body with his eyes.

"Oh," Link said dumbly, "Hi Fledge." Fledge tried to speak, staring at the ceiling, but he was at a loss for words. "What, uh, what are you doing?"

 _What do you think I've been doing you dumb fuck?_ "Oh nothing." Fledge glanced at Link, comforted slightly to see that the other boy was equally uncomfortable. "I just came from the shower."

Fledge became distinctly aware that Link was looking over him, judging his physical flaws and most likely berating himself for his actions the night before. "Right. I'm, uh, probably going there now." Link laughed weakly, trying desperately to play off the awkwardness of the situation. Fledge tried to play along, summoning up his bravest smile. "Well, I… uh… I'd better go."

Wanting to mention Groose, Fledge found himself unable to speak once again and began walking mechanically. There were several steps between them when he heard Link call, "Fledge, wait!" There was something different in his tone, and Fledge felt the awkwardness begin to disappear.

"What is it, Link?"

Link stretched his arm up and rubbed his head, and Fledge hated himself for noticing the muscles flex as he moved. "I – I… I just wanted to t-tell you how…" Link groaned in frustration, grappling with the words, "how sorry I am about what happened last night." He paused, but then seemed to realize that further explanation was required. "I was just stressed about the whole ordeal with Pipit, and I was pretty out of it, and… and I guess I thought… I thought I would use you to get back at him. That was wrong of me, and I'm sorry."

Relief flooded through Fledge like a wave of ice water, but he wasn't quite sure why. "Thank you, Link," he said, sighing in a satisfying catharsis. "And… I also want to thank you for being so accepting. I – I know that you know that I like you, b-but I know that you don't like me. From the guys I've seen you with, I can tell that I'm not your type," he joked, laughing, "and I've come to accept that. Thanks for not making things weird for me or… or pressuring me into decisions."

Link's hand fluttered to Fledge's shoulder, but he didn't feel the sexual spark between them anymore. Instead, he felt like Link was an old friend (which he was). "Hey, I know how you feel, Fledge." He sighed, rubbing his hands across his forehead. "When I first met Nico, I was so confused. Coming out as gay didn't cross my mind at first, and… I just had this crazy idea that we could never be together." He chuckled at his past foolishness. "I sort of obsessed over him, and it was one of the worst times of my life… and I don't want to put you into that situation."

Fledge smiled, looking into the other boy's sky blue eyes. "Thanks, Link. That's sweet."

"I'd hug you, but… you know…" Fledge looked down at their mostly naked bodies and laughed along with Link. It felt good and healthy, like they were just two friends sharing a private joke.

"That would be… fantastic," he said, ironically using the word he would have used genuinely just a few minutes ago, "but we'd better not."

Link laughed and then wrapped him into a tight hug anyway. There was a lot of contact between them, but Fledge was comforted by the touch of Link's chest and arms. He knew this hug meant a lot to both of them, feeling Link's attempt to convey a lot of things they had left unsaid, and he squeezed the other boy tighter with his free arm.

"Well, bye Fledge," Link said, pulling back from the other boy. "We should hang out sometime."

"Yeah, I'd like that," Fledge smiled before walking away. He sighed contentedly as he approached his dorm.


	10. A Dreamy Interlude

Link stood before him, smiling happily. He said nothing, but his eyes sparkled with excitement, stirring arousal deep within Fledge.

He was naked. So was Fledge, although that was less important. Fledge didn't feel at all uncomfortable looking over Link's body, savoring the curvature of each muscle and the finer details of Link's body hair. Fledge breached the distance between them and took Link's mouth into a kiss. Their tongues mingled greedily, each eager for another taste of the other.

Fledge's hands explored Link's body, gripping his perfectly rounded ass, tracing the flow of the muscles on his back, running the course of his hips, raking through his hair. Link's hand were everywhere on his body, and Fledge lost himself to their touch.

While they kissed, Fledge felt his cock press up against Link's. They desperately ground against one another, and Fledge's hand found Link's throbbing dick, softly massaging his balls and pulling his foreskin back, swirling his finger over the head to make Link moan into the kiss. His other hand began to caress the delicious space between Link's ass cheeks, and the other boy began to whimper.

This was too much for Fledge.

He sunk to his knees and spun Link around forcefully. He buried his face into Link's ass, delicately licking and softly sucking while rubbing his cheeks and his legs with his free hands. His own cock throbbed but he ignored it.

Link began to moan in earnest, bucking his hips slightly back onto Fledge's tongue. One of his hands strayed to his cock, but Fledge anticipated this and forcefully placed it back on the desk on which Link braced himself. He stood slowly, trailing his tongue up Link's back, making the other boy gasp in pleasure.

Suddenly, Fledge used his strength to pick the other boy up and set him on the desk, head resting against the wall. After pulling back from a kiss, Fledge was startled to see that he was no longer with Link, but Keet.

Keet's dark eyes sparkled just as intensely as Link's, and Fledge took it in stride, continuing his ministrations.

He went in for another kiss, his fingers fluttering over Keet's opening, still wet from his tongue. Keet groaned and spread his cheeks fully. Fledge guided his aching cock into the entrance, and Keet gasped, his eyes rolling back into his head. Fledge's arms pulled Keet's legs up to his shoulders as he slowly sunk his full cock inside the other boy.

When Keet had taken all of Fledge's cock, Fledge pulled it out almost to the tip before forcefully slamming it back in, sinking his entire weight into Keet's entrance.

Keet screamed in ecstasy.

Fledge began thrusting slowly, rhythmically, and Keet responded to each thrust, screaming with pleasure. Fledge took another kiss, quickening the speed of his thrusts, and Keet gasped furiously through his lips. With each thrust, they slammed into the wall, and Fledge heightened the intensity until he was covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

He never loosed a sound, despite Keet's screaming, but began thrusting faster and faster, until his body suddenly became cold and he felt himself lose control as he slipped into oblivion. He slammed into Keet again and again as stars flashed across his vision and the boy beneath him released a sound so animal it brought him to the edge. He felt Keet's nails like claws dig through his back as he came furiously, spurting his load into the other boy. Keet came at the same time, showering them both in the sticky seed.

Fledge slumped over Keet, slowly pulling his cock out from the other boy. Keet trailed a finger through the mess on his stomach and held it up to Fledge's lips. Fledge happily sucked it clean before pulling Keet into another kiss.


	11. An Evening Exchange

_Two Days Later…_

Fledge couldn't keep the smile from his lips.

Above them, the sky unfolded dramatically, enormous white clouds towering to the heavens drifted slowly across the deep blue, occasionally passing over the sun but hardly masking its luminescence. They walked through the trees, enjoying the clear afternoon air. Nothing had been said between them for several minutes, but they were both comfortable in the companionable silence.

"I wonder how it's going."

Shrugging, Fledge took a deep breath, feeling the autumn air clear his lungs and reinvigorate his soul. They continued strolling along.

"I'm worried. He's trying so hard. I don't know whether to hope that it works or hope that it all blows up in his face."

He nodded. "I know what you mean. I can't forgive him that easily, but it is good to see that he's putting in so much effort to fix all this." He paused momentarily. "Still, I suppose it doesn't really matter to us. We're not part of that whole mess anymore."

Another few steps of silence, then, "Yeah, I guess you're right." There was a deep, discontented sigh.

"What's wrong?" Fledge asked.

He sat down at the edge of the island, dangling his feet over the side, and was joined moments later. They sat for another minute or two in silence, looking out into the open air as Fledge waited.

"I don't know. I really don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it."

Rolling his eyes, Fledge grinned cheekily. "Maybe you should stop worrying about it, wait to see how it all plays out between them, and trust that everything will happen the way it's supposed to."

They both laughed wistfully, remembering the bad times that were still fresh in their minds. The sun, beginning to approach the horizon, had begun to discolor the sky, turning it into a pale pastel blue that gave way to pinks and yellows. Fledge marveled at the change he observed while they sat watching, so inconsequential to time's passage.

"How do you think it went yesterday?"

The laughter died on his face, as though he wasn't sure how to proceed. "I don't know." There was a laugh as he paused, struggling to find the right words. "I mean, I had fun. It was nice to meet someone new and it was nice of him to set that up for me…"

"But…?"

"But… I don't know how I feel about him."

"What do you mean?"

He stared out into the open sky, looking down into the inviting clouds below, and in that moment was almost overcome with the desire to slip off of the island and surrender into the arms of deep blue, not out of some nihilistic death wish but simply out of a desire to _stop_. To cease being.

It was almost a full minute before he answered. "At the Fall Festival on Saturday I saw him, just barely, but I got a good look at him when he passed me. And there was something uncomfortably attractive about him. Like, there's nothing in particular about him that justified this attraction, but there it was. And yesterday, when we were introduced, I didn't really have a chance to think about it. He was just there, talking, telling me about his opinions, his history, his struggles, just everything."

"That was different for you?"

"Exactly. I've known Link for years, and I've gotten to know him pretty well. I've had plenty of time to think about my feelings for him, to understand exactly what I loved about him. But yesterday, it was all so sudden and unexpected, and now I don't know how to take it."

"Maybe you should trust that everything will work out the way it's supposed to."

They both chuckled again, and Fledge continued to watch the change in the sky as the sun dipped down to the edge of the clouds.

"Are you gonna meet him again?"

Fledge sighed. "Yeah. He said he's coming up to the island tomorrow to visit an old friend, and I agree to meet him in the Bazaar."

"Fledge, you know you don't have to keep seeing him. Link introduced you as a way to apologize for his behavior, but he didn't know if you would match up together."

"No. I have to do this. I'm not going to go back to the sheltered, quiet life I used to lead. If there's one lesson that I've learned in all this it's that I need to be more forward and outgoing. I'm not going to give up and sit in my dorm listening to Link get it on in the next room."

They were quiet for a while longer, and the sun sunk beneath the clouds, throwing deep purple streaks across the sky to mingle with the last reaches of gold.

"They're probably getting it on right now."

"Yeah. If everything went the way he planned."

Fledge felt as though he was supposed to be upset and sad, but he didn't feel anything in particular. He felt as though he had left that part of himself behind and started a new chapter of his life, and he was alright with that. It was scary, not knowing what the future held, but it was far less frightening than the past.

"You know that I'm always here to talk if you need me, right?"

He smiled. "Yeah. I know."


	12. Finding Its Footing

_The Next Morning…_

When Fledge stepped out of his room, the dorm was quiet, and he closed the door softly. He hurried through the halls, wanting to catch the sunrise as he walked to the Academy building. He heard movement in the bathroom as he approached, and the door swung openly suddenly.

Groose was one of his least favorite people for a variety of reasons.

He constantly smelled like he had just showered but was in need of another in the near future. He thought that muscles would make him attractive and concerned himself with bulking up to mask his natural ugliness. And, he always seemed to appear when Fledge was least expected and least prepared to deal with him.

In this particular instance, he wore a pair of loose trousers that hung dangerously low on his hips, revealing a patch of ginger curls atop the sizeable bulge he sported proudly. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Fledge, and then smirked.

"Hey, Fledge. Fancy seeing you here."

He took a leisurely step forward. Fledge stepped back.

"Aw, come on. There's no need to be afraid of me just because a few weeks ago I almost killed you." He stretched out his arms, causing his pants to sink lower around his waist.

"Get away from me, Groose. I don't want anything to do with you."

Groose pretended to look hurt. "You don't want another chance? Come on, I'll even let you have the first punch." He stepped forward again. "What's the matter? Don't think you can handle this?" He gestured to his domineering muscle, continuing to advance on Fledge.

"Why are you doing this?" Fledge asked desperately, backing away while praying for another person to come along.

In a flash, Groose darted forward and pinned him to the wall, one had at his throat and one poised at his stomach, ready to administer the first punch. "Because of you, I've been expelled. I might as well take you out with me."

Fledge scrabbled at the hand that choked his throat, but lost strength as the first punch landed in his gut. He retched, and Groose threw him to the floor, laughing derisively. He pressed his lips against Fledge's ear and whispered, "This is what you get for being a cocksucker."

Closing his eyes, Fledge braced himself for the onslaught, but at that moment he heard someone call, "GROOSE, GET THE FUCK OFF OF HIM." Groose looked up, startled, and then rose suddenly, allowing Fledge to scramble away. Link stood about ten feet away wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. He looked terrifyingly unstable, as though one touch would set him into a furious rampage. Every muscle in his body was tense, and Fledge could tell he was ready to take Groose on in a fight.

He rose slowly beside Link, fighting the pain in his stomach.

Groose looked terrified, watching Link intently as he stood, hardly daring to move.

"Get out of here." Every word was quiet, measured, and deadly quiet, and Groose turned on tail and practically ran away, rounding the corner and disappearing.

"Damn," Fledge muttered, "He looks terrified."

Link turned to him. "He should be. The last time I saw him I told him I'd kill him if he touched you again."

Fledge smiled bashfully. "Well, thanks."

"Follow me and I'll walk with you to class." He looked down. "I need to put on some clothes."

Fledge followed Link back to his dorm, and sat in companionable silence as Link quickly pulled on some clothes, gathered his books, and straightened his hair. Then they set out.

"So how did it go last night?" Fledge asked. Link was silent, and a glance told Fledge that the other boy was blushing quite violently. He smirked. "I guess it went well?"

Laughing, Link ran his hand through his hair nervously. "It was fun, yeah. I mean, n-not fun, it was just – well, it was fun, but I mean yeah we… yeah. We're back together now, I guess." He mumbled himself into silence and Fledge tried to contain his laughter.

"That's good. I'm glad everything worked out."

"Yeah, speaking of which, what about you and Keet?"

Now it was Fledge's turn to blush. "I mean, it went well. We didn't do anything though, just talked," he added quickly. "We're supposed to meet again today after school."

"Well have fun," Link chuckled.

They were outside now, walking across the campus as the sun climbed higher into the sky. Fledge looked out to the main island, beginning to see signs of life as the island woke up. He could still feel an ache in his stomach from Groose's fist.

"Why does Groose insist on being such an asshole?"

Link sighed. "I don't know."

"Can I tell you something?" Fledge asked tentatively.

"Yeah, of course," Link said, his voice apprehensive but curious.

"That day a couple of weeks ago… when Groose beat me up so bad… he didn't just hit me."

Gasping, Link stopped and took Fledge's hand. "You don't mean he…?"

"I mean, he was screaming that I was a little faggot and that I deserved it, but then he started to get mad when I fought back and he pulled his dick out and started like tearing at my pants and asking why I didn't want it and…"

Link was horrified. "Fledge, that's horrible. We have to go to Headmaster Gaepora!"

Fledge resisted as Link pulled him away, shouting, "No! I don't want to tell anyone. I just don't understand what happened and I'm scared about what might have happened after I blacked out. I mean, my head it something real hard pretty early on and I don't remember anything after that." He took a deep breath. "I just wish I could understand what made him do things like that. I mean, you don't think Groose is secretly gay, do you?"

Rubbing his head in his hands, Link sighed. "I don't think so. I think he's probably so full of himself that he's turned on by the thought that he turns anyone on, whether that's a boy or a girl."

They walked in silence for a moment before Link said, "Fledge, I really think you need to tell someone about this."

"I did. I told you." Link didn't know what to say to that. "Come on, I don't want to talk about this anymore."

On they walked, nearing the Academy building, when Fledge saw Karane come stalking out. She stopped momentarily when she saw Link but then continued, fire in her eyes. As she approached, Link murmured "Oh brother" beside him.

"Link!" she called furiously.

"What do you want, Karane?"

She stopped about three steps away, glaring at them. "I've just heard in the showers this morning that you convinced Pipit into taking you back."

"Excuse me? _I_ convinced _him_? No, honey, I was the one who needed to be convinced."

"Bullshit," she spat. Her eyes glanced to Fledge, surveying him quickly, before they focused on Link again. "Pipit doesn't love you. I know that. And I don't think you love him either." Her eyes darted back and forth between them for a moment. "And I think I can prove it. I think you're fucking Fledge."

Fledge didn't know where it came from, but in the blink of an eye there was a loud slap and Karane held her cheek, screaming angrily. "Where the fuck did that come from?"

"Karane, he doesn't love you. And I am definitely not fucking Link. Now, why don't you fuck off."

She glared at them for a second longer before spitting at the ground. "This isn't over," she warned. Then, without a backwards glance, she strode away.

Link was looking him with amazement. "Where _did_ that come from?" he asked incredulously.

Fledge sighed sadly. "You, Zelda, and Pipit held our group together back in the day. Piper was there because of Zelda and Karane was there because of Pipit. That left just me and Peatrice, and we were pretty good friends. Now that Karane has gone crazy, I've lost her." He looked back at Karane's retreating form before adding, "And I have to blame her for that."

"Yeah, we've all lost something because of her."

He neglected to point out to Link that he couldn't see anything Link had lost to Karane's behavior. _If anything_ , Fledge reasoned, _he ended up with Pipit because of her_. Still, he didn't want to damage the relationship he and Link shared that was struggling to find its footing regardless of Karane or Pipit.

"I bet she and Groose together could do some damage," he frowned.

Link dismissed the comment. "Yeah, but Groose has been expelled. He'll be out of here come Friday."

Fledge felt uneasy but didn't press the issue.


	13. Kisses Over Coffee

_Later That Day…_

Fledge was nervous as he approached the coffee house where he and Keet had arranged to meet.

Things had gone quite well on their first date, but Fledge had been unexpectedly plunged into that situation by his decidedly more confident and outgoing friend. Now, it was all on him, and the pressure was mounting in his stomach like an unwelcome and aggressively anxious house guest, clouding his mind and making his palms sweat.

Still, he breathed deeply, allowing the cool autumn air to fill his lungs and keep his mind alert and excited, doing his best to ignore the anxieties nagging at him.

Despite his best effort, he couldn't remember how the conversation had started last time. He suspected that Link had been heavily involved, but comforted himself with the knowledge that Keet had done most of the talking while he had listened. He liked listening. It was much easier. He was mortified, however, that there would be nothing to listen to because he would be incapable of opening a dialogue.

He wished Link could come with him on every date.

Crippling social anxiety aside, he also had to face the fact that Keet would undoubtedly be expecting some form of… physical interaction. And soon. And Fledge just didn't know if he was ready for that. His only sexual experience so far had not ended well.

Worried that a combination of his inability to function properly in typical social situations and his extreme purity would make Keet lose interest in him quickly, he wiped his shaking hands on his trousers.

A wave of uncomfortably warm air washed over him as he entered the coffee house. The temperature was conspiring to increase his discomfort further. A sweep of the tables told him Keet had yet to arrive. Unsure whether to order a drink or wait for his date, he stood awkwardly for a moment in the doorway. Then he heard, "Oh, hi Fledge!" from behind and turned.

Keet looked gorgeous. Fledge had enjoyed the small amount of clothes the other boy had worn at the Fall Festival, but he decided firmly that he looked even better with the appropriate amount of attire. He wore all black; a loose sweater over skintight jeans and large boots. His dark hair swooped over his midnight blue eyes and his teeth glittered like stars. Looking him over made Fledge suddenly become conscious that he had hardly even tried with his outfit today, adding another anxiety to his list.

"Wow, you look good!" Keet exclaimed. "I take it you haven't ordered anything yet?"

Trying to subdue his social inadequacy, Fledge managed, "N-no, I-I was waiting f-for you."

Beaming, Keet looked around the shop. "Oh, why don't you go grab that table while it's still free while I get the drinks?"

With that, he was off, and Fledge made his way over to a small table in the corner. He wondered where Keet had found the money to pay for the drinks, remembering the stories he'd heard about the state of financial turbulence in which he and his family lived, but decided that maybe he didn't want to know.

Keet flounced over a few minutes later, sporting two steaming coffees, and deposited himself in the seat across from Fledge. There was a moment of silence while Keet sipped his drink, and Fledge could feel the blood rush to his cheeks as the pressure mounted to instigate a conversation, but, suddenly, Keet leaned forward and said, "So!"

"So?"

"I should tell you that I had a really cute outfit planned for this, but my cat ate it."

Fledge snorted, caught off guard. "Oh." He managed a straight face. "I'm all ears."

Grinning, Keet launched into the story of his mad dash around the house to find his brand new top before finally discovering it in shreds beneath the sofa. After several hairballs, many threats to throw the cat over the side, and the ensuing panic that resulted from his lack of appropriate shirt, Fledge was startled to find that several minutes had already passed. He found that Keet had a natural talent for maintaining a gentle flow of conversation that was easy to enter and enrapturing to experience, and his anxieties began to melt away. The story concluded with Keet proclaiming, "And that's why I look like a complete and utter trash can."

Fledge tutted. "You look fantastic!"

"That's sweet," Keet laughed, blushing a little. "But I know you're lying." There was a pause. "This is my mom's sweater. She didn't want to let me take it. Says it's one of her best. I told her you were important to me."

"Oh, come on," Fledge chided, feeling a bit woozy, "This is only our second date!"

"Exactly, that's what makes you important. I got a second date."

He scoffed. "I feel like you're teasing me. I've never really been on dates before at all."

"Me neither," Keet murmured. Seeing Fledge's expression, he laughed a little but protested, "It's true! Sure, I've been with a lot of guys, but I've never been on dates with anyone before. It's never been like… romantic. It's nice to just spend time with a guy without feeling pressured into sex."

 _That's the last thing you have to worry about from me_. "Really? I was worried, honestly. I've never really had much experience with that sort of thing and I was worried I wouldn't live up to your expectations."

Keet took his hand across the table. "Fledge, if we're ever gonna get there, it's not gonna be for a while. Right now, I'm really enjoying just getting to know you."

 _But I've barely said anything._ "I know what you mean. It's nice to hang out with someone new. Things haven't really been the same since Pipit…" Seeing Keet's sunny expression turn gloomy at the mention of Pipit's name, Fledge backtracked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… I just meant…" His anxieties were back in full force; sweaty palms, flushed face, inability to form coherent sentences.

"No, it's fine. I've just been doing my best to not think about him."

Fledge watched him for a moment as he gazed into his coffee. "You really loved him, didn't you?"

Keet glanced up at him, and when their eyes met a connection was formed that hadn't quite sparked before. The pain in Fledge's eyes was all too real to him, and he remembered what Link had said, _"He came out a couple of weeks ago because he had a crush on me"._

"Yeah. Or at least, I thought I did. Now I don't know what that was."

Fledge took both of his hands, never looking away from his beautiful eyes that sparkled like the night sky. "I was the same way with Link. I thought my world was ending when he chose Pipit. But I found a way to move on."

"How?" Keet asked desperately.

Smiling wistfully, Fledge said, "I cried a lot. And then I forgave him. And then I met you." He neglected to mention that they had almost fucked, as that wasn't conducive to the mood.

Keet leaned towards him, and his ears began to buzz as he mirrored the action. "Do you think…" He came closer. Fledge's head was spinning. "…Maybe you could…" Fledge felt like he was on top of a very tall building. "…Maybe you could help me…" Definitely within kissing distance. "…Help me get over Pipit?"

They were very close now. "I'd like that," Fledge said breathily. Then, without really thinking about what he was doing, he closed the distance between them and took Keet into a kiss. It lasted for a few seconds and was a simple kiss on the lips, but for Fledge it was monumental. His kiss with Link had been frenzied, mechanical, and almost violent. This was soft, delicate, warm, and inviting. It didn't make him horny or bring tears to his eyes. It reminded him of home, of cuddling by the fireside on cold evenings, of the soft rustle of autumn leaves as they fell gently from the trees in a rainbow of color, of freshly ground coffee in the morning, and all the things he loved. He closed his eyes and lost himself, just for a moment, in the magic of the experience, and when he returned to reality, he pulled back nervously and watched Keet.

The other boy smiled. "That was incredible," he said, breathless. "Can you do that again?"

Fledge smirked and kissed him again, reliving the simple pleasure it brought. This time it lasted a little longer and held a bit more longing, but Fledge broke it off again.

"I have never been kissed like that in my life," Keet mumbled.

Blushing, Fledge couldn't keep the smile from his face. "Me neither. I hope there will be more?"

Keet smiled with him. "I hope so too. A lot more."


	14. The Upper Hand

_The Next Evening…_

Fledge smiled happily as his friends chattered around him.

He was propped comfortably up at the head of his bed with Zelda at his side. Fado sat just over his shoulder on the desk, holding Piper's hand as she lounged in his desk chair. Link and Pipit sat on the floor against his wardrobe, legs entwined.

They had been like this for almost an hour, just a group of friends enjoying a comfortable state of equilibrium. What they talked about didn't matter to Fledge. He was simply blessed to enjoy their company.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Zelda exclaimed, "I sure as hell am excited for Groose to get the hell out of here!"

There was a general chorus of agreement. "I've been seeing him around a lot, though, considering he was expelled four days ago," Pipit frowned.

"Yeah, but Daddy had to give him time to get his shit together before kicking him out."

"Do you know where he's going?" Piper asked.

"Probably not back home," mused Link, absentmindedly stroking Pipit's leg. "I get the feeling that Groose doesn't have a close relationship with his parents. If Groose stays on Skyloft, that means we'll all have to be more careful." Fledge caught his eye for just a moment.

"You don't think he'd come back and do something like that again, do you?"

"Who knows," Pipit sighed wearily. "Honestly, I wouldn't put anything past Groose."

Link nodded. "And I've already caught him… lurking around the dorms suspiciously twice this week." Again, Fledge saw his eyes dart in his direction.

"You be careful confronting Groose by yourself."

Rolling his eyes, Link grinned and kissed Pipit softly. "I can handle Groose. Besides, I wasn't alone. I was with Fledge just the other day when we saw him getting up to something."

There was a moment of silence as all eyes looked to Fledge. He felt the need to say something insightful that validated his presence with Link. "Yeah," he muttered. Fado snorted and Zelda laughed outright, and Fledge couldn't help but smile. "We ran into Karane as well," he added.

"What did that bitch want?" Pipit spat.

Link groaned dramatically. "I think she thought that I wouldn't take you back and figured that she'd have you all to herself again once the whole situation with Keet was over. I guess she was mad when she found out we're back together and took it upon herself to break us up again."

"Oh?" asked Pipit, raising an eyebrow.

"She thinks that Link and I are fucking," Fledge said, amused.

"You?" Pipit chuckled in disbelief. Then his cheeks colored and he muttered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… it's just, I figure you're the most innocent guy I know."

"I've done some stuff!" Fledge protested good-naturedly. He and Link shared a brief moment of eye contact and then looked away, blushing.

"Speaking of which," Zelda interrupted, rolling her eyes, "How did it go yesterday with you-know-who?"

Fledge glanced awkwardly at Pipit. "Relax, Fledge," he assured. "Link and Zelda already told me and, honestly, I'm over it. I support you and Keet completely."

"Wait, what?" Piper asked, confused. "Keet and Fledge?"

Zelda giggled. "Goddess, Pipes, you are so behind. Fledge has been on two dates with Keet now."

"Oh my goodness! How has it been going Fledge?"

Fledge blushed, uncomfortable being the center of the group's attention. "Oh, they've been okay, I guess."

Link tutted. "Just okay?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, I was pretty nervous yesterday because I didn't know how I was going to start it off. On our first date, I had you there with me to just get the ball rolling, but last night I almost bailed because I was scared of being socially anxious. But Keet just sort of dived right in. He started telling me this story about his cat, and the next thing I knew we'd been talking for almost half an hour."

"Cute. Did you kiss?" Zelda demanded.

Cheeks red, Fledge looked at his lap. "Well…"

"You did!" Zelda squealed happily, clapping her hands. "Tell me everything! Who kissed who? Was it awkward or did it feel natural? Did you like it? Did _he_ like it? Was it just once or did you kiss more than that?"

Fledge was blushing furiously now, but fighting to keep a smile from his face. He could feel Pipit watching him, and his expression sunk when he saw the other boy's face. Pipit looked upset and concerned, but also suspicious and angry. Fledge didn't believe that he had Pipit's full support.

"I mean, it doesn't really matter…" Fledge murmured, watching Pipit from the corner of his eye.

The other boy stood suddenly, brining Link up with him. "Well, it's getting late. We should probably head on to bed. I'll walk you back to your room, Link." Link gave him a confused look but didn't fight as Pipit forcefully steered him into the hall and closed the door firmly behind them. In the silence that followed, Fledge could hear them talking as they walked away but failed to make out what was said.

"Well, that was awkward," Fado said under his breath.

Both Piper and Zelda laughed, diffusing the tension somewhat, but Fledge felt a knot of concern begin to tighten once again in his stomach.

"Don't worry about it, Fledge," Piper assured soothingly. "I'm sure Pipit's just trying to work things out, and it probably was a little uncomfortable for him talking about Keet with Link right there."

"Yeah…" Fledge said halfheartedly.

"Fledge…" Zelda began. "You haven't… gone any further with Keet, have you?"

"No," he responded mechanically. "Keet told me it was nice to spend time with a guy without feeling pressured into having sex." Zelda looked immensely relieved. "Why, do you think that's what's making Pipit so upset? He thinks Keet and I are already fucking?"

"Fledge, Pipit sees you as competition," Fado said suddenly.

"What?"

"Well, think about it. It don't take a genius to figure out that you an' Link have shared some experiences that Pipit doesn't an' probably shouldn't know about. I reckon Pipit can sense that, even if he doesn't know exactly what went on, but he don't wanna press the issue because he knows he was in the wrong with Keet. So, knowing that you not only did somethin' with his current boyfriend but also will potentially move on to his past boyfriend, Pipit sees you as his biggest competition."

Fledge stared at him, surprised by the unexpected insight. "But Pipit got Link."

"Sure, but only just. He knows that he got Link by a very thin thread. He's in trouble for his shenanigans with Keet, an' in you he sees the man Link could easily turn to. That's confirmed by how easily you moved in on Keet. In Pipit's mind, and in mine, you have the upper hand here."

"But what do you think that means?"

"Well," Fado said, rubbing his hand through his hair as he thought, "Pipit might try to dissuade you an' Keet from forming relationship like his an' Link's. I doubt he'll try anythin' too suspicious, but he might try to talk you out of seeing Keet. He might tell you that he don't think you can handle Keet after the go-around he gave him."

Zelda nodded. "So, basically, take anything Pipit tells you, especially in private, with a grain of salt."

"But I don't even know if I like Keet that much." Fledge groaned. "This is all so confusing. It was so much easier to just have a silent crush on Link."

Laughing, Zelda rubbed his back. "I know you, Fledge. If you and Keet weren't going smoothly, I would have heard all about it. I have no idea how your dates have gone, which means they've been really good so far. You get nervous to talk about anything good that happens to you because you don't want to seem boastful."

"That's not true," Fledge protested, smiling as he said it. Then, he muttered, "The dates have been going pretty well."

Zelda smirked, but then groaned horrendously. "This means I'll be the only one left in our group with no boyfriend."

"You kinda already are," Piper jabbed, earning her a fierce glare.

"But!" she announced suddenly, "There should be a new student starting next week. Groose is leaving an empty position, and the demand for places is very high. It'll probably be a guy, as well, so that the girls don't have to change dorms at all."

"We'll all have to work together to snag him for you," Fledge smirked. "Finding a man you can hold on to won't be easy."

She smacked him playfully. "It's true. We've all got to work together, or else he might end up in Karane's crowd."

Fledge frowned. "That reminds me. The other day, Link and I did run into Karane, and he doesn't think it's a big deal, but I'm worried that she's a little unstable. She threatened that this wasn't over and seemed like she would go to pretty much any length to get Pipit back."

"Yeah, I've gotten the same impression after talking to her recently," Piper said. "She seemed very confident that Pipit would crawl back to her after Link left him forever."

"Well, there's not much we can do but watch and wait," Zelda answered.

At that moment, the door swung open and Link appeared, sans Pipit.

"Fledge, just a head up; I think Pipit's gonna try to have a man-to-man with you soon."

Fledge groaned. "What?"

"He told me that he's concerned for you because he can't trust Keet to be faithful and doesn't think that your relationship is healthy. He also told me that he didn't expect the two of you to get past a first date and certainly didn't expect a kiss. Apparently," Link said as he threw his hands up, sounding scandalized, "It's my fault for introducing the two of you, and I should have just left well enough alone."

Fledge caught Fado's eye for a moment and the other boy nodded sagely. "Okay," he asked, turning back to Link, "What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know," Link sighed. "I pretended to go to bed and told him I was too tired for him to stay, and then I came back here because I figured I should tell you. As much as I love him, Pipit has proven that he might be a little shortsighted when it comes to this type of thing."

Link plopped down, frustrated, on the bed at Fledge's feet, leaning against the wall.

"I think I'll be okay," Fledge mused. "I can handle Pipit. If we have to have a little display of manliness over you and Keet, I think I've got the upper hand."


	15. Shower Encounters Pt 3

_Two Days Later…_

It had been a lazy Sunday, consisting primarily of enjoying the cool autumn weather with his friends. The island had finally and fully forsaken summer, and the new season deposited itself around them in a carpet of fallen leaves that crunched beneath their feet as they walked.

Fledge had spent most of the day with Zelda. She joked that they spent more time together because their friends were all in relationships. She neglected to mention how close Fledge was to entering his own romance. Instead, the two reminisced about the easy days of the past and planned for the future, remembering friends they had lost and imagining friends they had yet to meet.

He couldn't help but think about Keet. He knew it wouldn't do any good, and he didn't think there was much reason to worry, but the other boy still dominated his conscious.

Keet, he had learned, was not the ideal boyfriend. He was haunted by the memories of his past array of sexual and romantic experiences that continually surfaced in innocent conversations. His views of relationships and romance were cookie-cut, black and white, with no adaptability or blurred lines. Making extensive use of labels, Keet struggled to understand the less definitive aspects of relationships. They had talked for hours after their kiss, getting to know one another, and Fledge had come to understand that Keet had never experienced a true, loving, genuine relationship before, even with his mother.

Not that Fledge was the expert on relationships.

Far from it, the closest he'd come to dating before the whole mess with Link and Keet had been when he'd considered asking Peatrice out to the Fall Festival two years ago.

But Fledge knew that Keet needed someone like him to help him understand a true relationship. Fledge wanted to fuck as much as the next guy, but he knew that if their relationship had too much of a sexual emphasis he'd never get through to Keet. He needed to create relationship that was about trust, love, and honesty, where words like 'top' and 'bottom' didn't matter.

The night drew on, and he and Zelda parted ways. After watching the moon rise over the island, Fledge retreated to the dorms. He eyed Link's door suspiciously as he passed. He and Pipit had been keeping themselves busy all day, and Fledge didn't want to intrude on anything he shouldn't.

Fledge passed another hour readying himself for school and tidying his dorm, until he decided to shower. After collecting his toiletries, he made his way to the bathroom.

It was empty when he entered and he stripped quickly, folding his clothes into a neat pile in the corner. He stepped into the shower and was about to cut the water on when he heard the door open, followed by an excessive amount of giggling.

"Pipit, what if we're caught!" Link gasped through the sounds of a passionate kiss.

"Relax, it's late. No one's going to come in here now." There was more kissing, and then Pipit growled, "Besides, the risk of being caught is kind of turning me on."

There was the unmistakable sound of trousers being removed, and, after a moment of silence, Pipit groaned in pleasure. Fledge's cock twitched, and he stood, frozen, uncertain as to whether he should announce his presence or let them run their course. If they checked the showers, they would see that his was occupied. Fledge guessed they hadn't noticed his small pile of folded clothes in their fervor.

More moaning followed, and then Link said, "Let's at least go into the shower."

Fledge held his breath as the two boys, gasping and giggling, entered the shower beside his and drew the curtain. He could hardly believe that they were just a foot or two away and hadn't noticed him at all.

Link gagged and sputtered, and an internal battle raged within Fledge; should he give in and picture the two boys in his head, should he try to block the noises out until they left him alone, or should he reveal his presence in the next shower over. With every passing second, the latter option became more and more painfully unpleasant.

Pipit was uttering a series of profane commands to Link that stirred Fledge's imagination, and Fledge ultimately gave in and imagine that he stood in Pipit's place, filling Link's throat with his throbbing cock. His hand moved to his own cock for a moment but he tore himself away from the fantasy and held both hands up as if in surrender. His dick was solid, but he refused to allow himself to stimulate it.

Various whimpers and whines floated towards him over the small wall that separated the showers, only eight feet in height and not even a foot wide. They had resumed kissing, but Link had gotten much louder.

It was when he gasped, "Oh Goddess, add another one Pipit," that Fledge realized exactly what was occurring.

Pipit was fingering Link in the dormitory shower. And Fledge had front row seats. Sort of.

He leaned against the back wall of the shower, committing himself to waiting out the escapade in silence. Now Link whimpered and moaned while Pipit's mouth was presumably otherwise occupied. Fledge tried not to imagine himself in the shower with Link, burying his tongue into the farthest reaches of the space between Link's legs, losing himself as Link desperately rocked his hips back onto his face, accompanied by the noises that filled the bathroom. His cock hurt badly, demanding his attention, but still he resisted, unwilling to see himself sink to that level.

"I want to open the curtain," Pipit said suddenly, still gasping.

"Pipit, no. What if someone came in here?"

"You think a curtain will make a difference?"

"What would you do if Groose came in here?"

"Ask him to join us?" Pipit smirked. There was a playful slap. "He's been expelled," said Pipit defensively.

"Yeah, but he could still get in."

They kissed. "Maybe," Pipit growled, "I want him to." Link gasped violently. "Maybe I like the idea of spitting you on two big cocks." Link groaned roughly through their kiss. Fledge's cock groaned as well as he imagined himself saying 'I could help you there' and then joining in their fun, gagging Link on his dick while Pipit slammed into him from behind.

"I guess for now mine will do."

Link squealed and Pipit let out a low breath. Fledge didn't try to stop himself from imagining his throbbing cock push through Link's tight ring of muscle. After a moment, Pipit grumbled, "I want you to scream for me."

"Pipit, _we're in a public bathroom_. Don't make me –" the rest of his protest was cut off by harsh gasp. " _Deeper_ " Link demanded. "And _harder_."

That was all the invitation Pipit needed. His thrusts were deep and quick, and Fledge could hear their bodies collide. As Pipit ploughed into Link's ass, individual whimpers ran together into one long scream that made Fledge's cock want to burst with longing. His hands travelled his body, scratching at his thighs and furiously kneading his nipples, but all of Fledge's self-control was focused on keeping them off of his cock.

Pipit's voice joined Links, and the two screamed in chorus. Then the screams turned animalistic and guttural, and the thrusting reached its apex. Fledge knew the two boys were exploding in ecstasy, and suddenly he was too, as his cock spurted all over the shower floor without a hand on it.

There was a moment of silenced, filled with nothing but heavy breathing from the three of them. Then, Link laughed. "Fuck, we've got to do this again."

Pipit chuckled with him. "I told you you'd like it."

They kissed. "Come on," Pipit said, "Let's get out of here. Can you walk?"

"Barely," answered Link. "I think you came close to splitting me in half."

Just a minute later, they were gone, leaving Fledge slumped against the all of the shower standing in a pool of his own ejaculated shame.


	16. At the Foot of the Statue

_The Next Evening…_

Fledge laughed easily, brushing his hair back from his eyes while gazing at Keet.

They sat, close but not fused together, touching innocently but not intentionally, on a small bench in the gardens beneath the Statue of the Goddess. Keet had just cracked a joke and Fledge had laughed, not the forced, difficult laugh that he so often relied on, but a real, genuine and deep chuckle.

Keet smiled, and Fledge sighed happily. Here, with Keet, he found that he was able to be honest and true to himself in a way with which he was unfamiliar.

The sun sank toward the horizon and leaves fell gently around them in the delicate breeze. The evening air grew colder, and Fledge scooted closer to Keet as the other boy talked, listening with a contented smile. This, their third date, had none of the unsure awkwardness of their previous meetings; instead, they had easily jumped into a conversation that had soon swept Fledge off his feet.

Lifting himself partway off of the seat, Keet folded his legs together and leaned towards Fledge. It was at that moment that he realized their hands were touching, just a fluttering, uncertain but hopeful contact.

As Keet spoke, Fledge softly wrapped his fingers the other boy's fingers.

Keet barely faltered, soldiering on as though he hadn't noticed the casual move, but Fledge knew that for both of them it was monumental. This had none of the sexual tension that Fledge had come to associate with Link, but was a gesture of pure and innocent caring and love.

Fledge watched as Keet talked and talked, never tiring, never missing a word. But he lost himself in the other boy's eyes, in the crinkles that scarred his face when he laughed, in the smattering of freckles that decorated his cheeks, in the soft lips that looked so alluring to Fledge. The initial chemical attraction Fledge had experienced for Keet had been replaced by something more powerful and potent, and Fledge submitted himself to it willingly.

Without warning, Fledge suddenly leaned in and took Keet into a quiet kiss. The other boy was surprised but pleased, returning the kiss softly.

It lasted for a year, or maybe it was just a second, but Fledge felt time stop for just a moment as their lips joined. Overhead, the sun sank beneath the horizon as they kissed, but as Fledge pulled away it had hardly moved from its place in the sky above them.

"What was that for?" Keet asked, breathless.

"I was just thinking about how much I wanted to kiss you, so I decided to kiss you."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, Fledge enjoying the warmth where their skin touched and feeling the tingling feeling where Keet's lips had been on his.

"What is this?"

Fledge glanced at Keet and saw concern in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are we? Are we just friends?"

"Do you think we're just friends?"

Fledge could swear he saw Keet blush just a little. "I guess not."

"So what do you think we are?"

"I guess… we're in a relationship? I mean, I've just never really been in a relationship before with this much lack of any… action."

Fledge smirked. "We're on our _third_ date, Keet."

Biting his lip, Keet took Fledge's hand. "I know. And I've really had fun spending time with you. But…"

"But…?"

Whatever Keet was about to say was interrupted by a loud exclamation from around the corner of the Statue of the Goddess. Fledge listened for a moment before recognizing the voice of one of his least favorite people.

Karane was coming closer, and Fledge had no real desire to run into her in the deserted garden behind the Statue at sunset. After a moment of indecision, he grabbed Keet and made his way quietly to a small alcove in the wall in the corner where he thought they would be out of sight. He pulled Keet close, their faces just inches apart, and listened as Karane came closer.

"Fucking Pipit. I know him. He's not going to settle for Link when he could have me all to himself." Keet tutted in disgust. "He'll get bored soon, and do you think he's gonna stay loyal to Link, little miss purity."

Fledge almost laughed at Karane's ignorance, recalling the exchange he had been privy to the previous night.

"You really think Pipit is going to cheat on Link so soon after what happened with Keet?"

Karane hissed. "Don't say that fucking whore's name in my presence." There was a moment of silence. "Besides, what happened with that fag is just evidence that Pipit is disloyal to Link."

Fledge waited for Karane's companion to correct her and point out that Keet and Pipit had been together before Link, but nothing was forthcoming. He wrapped his arm around Keet as they listened, however, bringing the other boy closer so that their bodies were touching. He began to find it harder to focus on Karane's conversation as he felt Keet's hands on his body. However, his ears perked up at the mention of his name.

"We need to keep an eye on Pipit and Fledge."

"What does Fledge have to do with it?"

"Duh, Fledge is an innocent gay in their immediate circle. He's the obvious one for Pipit to turn to. I thought Link might get with Fledge behind Pipit's back, but it looks like Link is more dedicated to Pipit than I thought. I know Pipit, though, and he will move on from Link soon. Subconsciously, it's obvious that Pipit really wants to be with me."

Keet shook his head. "She's a fucking psycho."

As Karane and her companion drew further away, Fledge turned his attention back to Keet. "You're not worried about any of that? You're not worried that I might fuck Pipit?"

Almost laughing, Keet pressed closer against Fledge. "I don't think Pipit's really your type. Besides," he continued, his voice dropping into a husky, breathless tone, "Maybe if you showed me that you were capable of doing something more than holding hands with occasional kissing, I'd be a little more worried."

Fledge didn't quite know what was going on, but it didn't sound like his own voice when he said, "Alright, maybe I will show you. Where should we start?"

He wrapped the other boy into a kiss, passionate and fiery this time, sparking as their bodies melded together as one. His hands ran through Keet's hair and roamed across his back, dipping down to grip his firm ass as his tongue explored the other boy's mouth. His dick was growing, rubbing against Keet's sizeable length, and Fledge was suddenly overcome with the desire to taste the other boy.

Sinking to his knees, Fledge looked up at Keet but saw confusion in his face. "What are you doing?"

Blushing, Fledge answered, " _Well_ , I-I… I was gonna, you know… suck it."

"Why?"

"Uh, because I want to feel your cock in my throat?" _Why the fuck does anyone suck dick?_

"But I'm not a top," Keet said.

Fledge was bemused. "What? So?"

"Only tops get blowjobs."

He knew that he wasn't exactly the expert in sexual exploits, but he was pretty sure there was no rule against bottoms receiving blowjobs.

"I mean, if you don't want me to blow you…?"

Keet blushed again. "Well, I wouldn't know."

"You've never gotten a blowjob?" Fledge asked incredulously. After Keet shook his head, Fledge laughed. "Well, I've never given one, so this will be fun."

With that, he undid Keet's trousers, exposing the other boy's growing length. Uncertain how to proceed, Fledge took a deep breath and then went for it, swallowing Keet's dick as far he could into his throat before he choked. Keeping his lips over his teeth (he had learned this from Link at some point months or years previously), he began to suck Keet's cock.

He didn't know quite what he had been expecting, but he didn't get it. Instead, he got a strangely unpleasant but sexually satisfying experience. His ears buzzed and his surroundings fell away, and he became aware of three things; the smell that overwhelmed his lungs, the sounds that assaulted his ears, and the ache in his neck.

As he sucked in air desperately through his nose, he encountered the relatively foreign smell of Keet's balls and was uncertain whether he liked it. He had, of course, caught passing whiffs of his own privates on occasion, but had never spent time extensively contemplating the smell of his balls. Now that it filled his lungs until he could hardly breathe, he had trouble determining if it was a particularly pleasant smell.

If he ignored the sounds of Keet's moaning, he was disgusted to hear the explicitly amplified smacks and squelches that accompanied the action he was performing with Keet's cock. He didn't know quite why these sounds struck him so, but afterwards he was hardly able to think of anything except how atrociously unattractive he must have sounded while administering said action.

After hardly a minute had passed, his neck was incredibly sore. The segment of his spine cracked painfully with every movement of his head, and he had to continually shift position, at first kneeling and working Keet's dick from above but eventually sitting back on his heels and working more from below. This position somewhat eased the pain in his neck, but required him to use his arms and ab muscles to maintain the proper form.

It seemed like hours he had been sucking Keet's cock, but in reality had only been a few minutes. When he finally pulled his mouth away, he sighed heavily and stretched his neck out. Keet said nothing.

He stood laboriously. "How was that?"

Keet released a long breath. "That was incredible. I've never felt anything like it. What about you?"

"There's a hair in my teeth."

Laughing, Keet kissed him. "God you taste amazing," Keet groaned.

"You mean _you_ taste amazing," Fledge murmured through the kiss.

Keet laughed again, his tongue pushing further into Fledge's mouth greedily. "Maybe we can swap positions?"

Fledge pulled out of the kiss, almost gently tucking Keet's dick back into his trousers. "Maybe soon. But I think I'm done for today. I can only go so fast, after all."

"That's fair, I guess," Keet laughed, brining Fledge in for another kiss.


	17. In Control

_Later that Evening…_

There was a knock at his door. Fledge jumped in surprise, his hand still wrapped firmly around his hard, leaking length. He had been jolted out of a rather vivid fantasy of Keet's mouth taking his hand's place.

The knock sounded again, quiet and almost hesitant, and Fledge silently stood and pulled on a pair of underwear and a large sweater that hid his bulge. He straightened the bedsheets where he had been sitting and hastily kicked some dirty clothes beneath his bed before opening the door.

Pipit stood, framed by the doorway, a look of troubled concern plaguing his face.

"Oh, hi Fledge," he said, almost sounding surprised. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for just a couple of minutes? If you're not too busy," he added, looking him over.

Fledge nervously pulled his sweater down over the bulge in his underwear and straightened out his hair, conscious that his cheeks were still flushed.

"Um, yeah, sure. Come on in."

Entering the room, Pipit looked around suspiciously, and it occurred to Fledge that he may have been checking to ensure Keet was not with him. Then he turned to face Fledge, who was standing at the door watching the other boy. Pipit didn't sit down.

"I just thought we could talk about Keet for a second."

"What about Keet?" Fledge asked, uncertain whether he should be friendly or hostile.

"Well, I know that the two of you have started to spend time together, and I thought that I, having already dealt with Keet, should give you a little warning."

"A warning?"

"Yeah, I just don't know if it's a good idea for the two of you to see each other like this. I don't know if he's really right for you."

"How would you know what's right for me?" Fledge was definitely not getting friendly vibes from the other boy.

"Come on, Fledge, we've been friends for years. I think of you as a brother, and I don't want to see you fall in with someone like Keet."

"And just what is it about Keet that is so bad for me?"

Pipit sighed. "You're not making this easy for me, you know that?" When Fledge said nothing, Pipit rolled his eyes and continued. "Keet isn't exactly a wholesome individual. I mean, he seems nice on the outside, but he's thankless and manipulative. He's got a dubious background and a shady past with a lot of different guys, and I know he wasn't exactly faithful to me when we were meeting."

"Well, you weren't exactly faithful to him. Or anyone," Fledge responded hotly.

Gritting his teeth, Pipit closed his eyes for just a moment. "Yes, thank you for reminding me. I'm just saying that I don't want to watch that happen to you."

Fledge could hardly believe what he was hearing. What gave Pipit the license to even think he was qualified to comment on his relationship with Keet? Did the other boy understand how insensitively hypocritical he sounded after questioning the fidelity of others? Fledge assumed that, in Pipit's mind, this was a noble endeavor to help redeem himself for his previous romantic mistakes.

"What makes you think I need your help dealing with Keet?"

Pipit scoffed. "I mean, come on, Fledge, you're pretty innocent. You've never been in a relationship, you've never kissed anyone or done anything even remotely sexual. Keet is the total opposite. He's been around town and seen it all and done it all. And I don't know how well that will mix."

"I've done some stuff," Fledge contested. "I mean, I'm not at Keet's level or even yours but I'm not the virgin goddess returned from the heavens."

Smirking, Pipit stepped closer to him. Fledge almost felt threatened. "What have you done? Who would do anything sexual with you? Keet? I figured he would be pressuring you into sex so hard that you'd have to abandon the relationship, but I was wrong about that. Don't tell me you and Keet have fucked?" Fledge said nothing. "Well, it's not me. I'm running out of gay guys. Link?"

There was a terse moment of heavy silence.

"What did you do with Link, Fledge."

Fledge fought to keep a tear from his eye. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Link. "Nothing, really."

Pipit took another step forward. "Tell me."

"It was just when he was so angry and confused, and we just kissed a lot and he sort of gave me a blowjob but not really, so don't be mad. It's nowhere near as far as you've gone with him."

"I'm not mad, I'm…" Pipit gazed at Fledge with aggressive fascination, and Fledge was afraid he might explode with fury at any moment. "How do you know how far I've gone with Link?"

Preparing to defend himself, Fledge squeaked, "Let's just say you should be quieter in the shower."

He winced, expecting a hail of fists and a lot of shouting, but none was forthcoming. It was impossible for him to discern the look on Pipit's face. "You heard that? Yesterday, what we did in the shower?"

"I was there. I was in the next shower." He blushed as Pipit looked him over again as if seeing him in a new light. Pipit took another step forward, and the air filled with a new kind of tension.

"Then you heard what I said about a threesome? About Link taking two cocks at once?"

Fledge felt his erection rise again, tugging at the edge of his sweater. He nodded.

"And how does that make you feel?"

He glanced down at Pipit and noticed a sizeable bulge in the other boy's trousers. "I mean, the two of you together made me come without even touching my cock."

In one swift, unexpected move, Pipit closed the distance between them and brought his mouth to Fledge's in a violent kiss while his hands lifted his sweater and found Fledge's neglected dick. Fledge groaned as Pipit began stroking the bulge through his underwear and responded in kind, sliding his hand beneath the waistline of Pipit's trousers and finding his growing length.

After a moment, he realized what was happening and pushed Pipit back. "Woah, what is happening? You have a boyfriend. And I'm not even that attracted to you."

"If you haven't figured it out yet, Fledge," Pipit said breathlessly, "I'm really turned on by pretty much any kind of sex I know I'm not supposed to be having."

"So you want to fuck me?"

"Well, if you're offering."

"Oh god, you have a boyfriend Pipit."

He groaned. "I know, but I don't know how to stop myself. I've been making Link do things that are more and more risky to satisfy myself, but it's just not working. I want a threesome. Really badly. It gets me so hot to think of sharing Link with another guy."

They kissed again, aggressively, and Pipit's hands pulled Fledge's cock out from his underpants. "Do you think," groaned Fledge through the kiss, "that Link would be willing to do that?"

Fledge felt like he was melting into Pipit's hands. While not particularly attractive, Pipit did have an intoxicatingly manly manner that Fledge couldn't help but submit to. "I don't know. But I can think of another slut we could use."

"You mean Keet?" Fledge was working Pipit's trousers down around his legs to expose his cock. "Pipit, that's really cheating at that point. Don't you remember how badly Link was hurt?"

Pipit broke the kiss, maintaining his hold on Fledge's aching cock. "But would you tell Link? You wouldn't want to hurt him, would you? I mean, if you and I fuck Keet just one time and then never tell Link, who really gets hurt? Nobody, that's who. Link never finds out, you and I have fucking awesome sex abusing that slut Keet, and Keet gets the attention he craves."

With Pipit's firm hand tugging at his cock, Fledge found it impossible to resist the thought of spitting Link (or Keet for that matter) between himself and Pipit. "Start by asking Link, okay? I wouldn't feel as bad doing it with him."

Grinning, Pipit closed the distance and kissed him again. "You just want a piece of Link's ass."

"Yeah, you're not wrong," Fledge conceded.

Pipit laughed. "There's just one thing we need to sort out before this happens. I need to find out if you're just a top, or if you're down to take it as well."

With that, his fingers found Fledge's hole and thrust in, making him squeal with pleasure. "Oh goddess, Pipit, how far are you planning to go right now?"

"Well, I guess I won't fuck you, but I need to make sure you can take it in at least one hole." Firm hands forced Fledge to his knees, and before he could do anything about it he was gagging on Pipit's cock. He sputtered, gripping Pipit's ass for support, and the other boy groaned in pleasure. The experience was different than sucking Keet's cock had been; with Pipit thrusting into his throat, he could focus entirely on his tongue as it swirled around Pipit's head, eliciting delightful noises of pleasure from the boy above him.

Pipit's hands held Fledge's head steady as he began to fuck his mouth in earnest, pumping his dick into Fledge's throat as he brought himself closer to climax. Fledge stroked himself furiously, imagining sharing Pipit's delicious dick with Link in the near future, and he could feel Pipit grow tense as his thrusts quickened and he neared the edge.

They both exploded into ecstasy in tandem, Fledge sending showers of his sticky fluid across the floor of his room as Pipit came directly into the back of his throat. Fledge swallowed everything Pipit had to offer, and left the other boy weak as he gasped for breath. Pipit pulled his cock out from Fledge's throat and began pulling his trousers back up immediately.

"Yeah," he gasped, "I'll definitely get back with you."

Fledge rose and opened the door, checking to ensure the hallway was clear before stepping aside and allowing Pipit to hurry past. He closed the door firmly and paused for a moment before his own guilt overwhelmed him.

He sat in the floor against the door, crying desperately as he relived the interaction with Pipit over and over, until suddenly the door handle rattled from the outside and there was another knock.


	18. Bad Decisions

ReluctantHero – First of all, wow! That is a long review if I've ever seen one. Thank you for taking the time to type that all out! Writing Shower Encounters 3 was challenging because I lost the visual element, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. I don't know if Groose is really a closet gay or just sexually frustrated and VERY full of himself – I know a guy who is like this… he is turned on by knowing that he turns gay guys on, but is not really gay.

I've always seen Pipit as honorable also (if I'm being honest, In Control was one of the most surprising chapters for me because it completely changed the way I see Pipit and the direction I'm taking the plot). In NDIL I did my best to explain why Pipit was caught in such an unfortunate situation so that he wasn't the bad guy, but I decided that his explanation of things must have been at least somewhat sugar-coated and that there must have been an underlying reason that at least made it harder to break things off with Keet.

I stand by Link calling Zelda a whore, but I understand that people may have different perceptions of the potency of the word and I'm sorry my use of it offended you. As for the modern setting, I've left that intentionally ambiguous (some prefer modern setting for this kind of story while others generally despise modern setting entirely).

Now we come to Karane, and for this I would like to apologize to all of my readers (I know you're there even if you've never reviewed). Previously to the last chapter I had some half-baked plans for Karane to be the antagonist of this story, but after writing In Control I totally rethinked the plot and she hardly plays a part at all (about which I'm happy, as honestly her character was getting out of hand for me, getting more and more OOC and just needlessly angry and I wasn't quite sure what to do about it). So I'm apologizing really for building up conflict with her that will not come (in this story at least, she may have a part to play in a future sequel). This story has been uniquely challenging in that I'm writing as I go, so I've had to do a fair amount of working with what I've previously written (and a fair amount of saying DAMMIT I wish I hadn't added those few lines there). So my guilt at having essentially botched Karane may lead me to refine her character and throw her back into a sequel, but for now I think I'm just going to move away from her entirely.

I should also mention that, although I said I was halfway through with ten chapters, there's no end in sight (at least not in the next immediate week or so).

* * *

Fledge hurried to sit up as the doorknob rattled.

Wiping the tears from his face and hastily pulling his underwear back up over his now limp cock, he desperately pulled a shirt out from beneath his bed and used it to wipe up the mess he had previously shot across the floor. Whoever waited on the other side of the door knocked, despite Fledge's hope that they would go away, and then a voice called out, "Fledge, open the door! We need to talk."

He sighed and threw the shirt back to the floor. Then, hesitantly, he reached out and pulled the door open. Zelda stood in the doorway, where Pipit had stood just minutes before. Over her shoulder was Piper, sharing her look of concern.

"Fledge, why was Pipit just in here?"

Stepping back, Fledge invited the two of them in. "You'd better come in." As the entered, Fledge tried to decide whether to tell them what had transpired with Pipit, and how much to tell them.

Piper sat on his bed, and Zelda leaned back against his desk with her arms crossed, waiting. "Well, you both remember when Link warned me about Pipit being angry about me seeing Keet and wanting to have a talk with me about the dangers of such a relationship?" They both nodded. "Well, it was basically that. I mean… he came in and tried to tell me that he cared about me and didn't want me to get hurt but I think he was doing it out of self-interest because he doesn't want to see Keet in a relationship. Is it bad of me to think that?"

"No, I think you're probably right," Piper said. "I don't know how easy it would be to forgive someone like Keet after what he did."

Fledge smiled half-heartedly, still conflicted. He wished Piper would leave. It was much easier to talk to Zelda by herself. He and Zelda had come to know each other closely, but he and Piper were just friends.

"That's it?" Zelda demanded. "He just came to try to dissuade you from seeing Keet? Nothing else?"

He could feel the blush creeping up his neck, and his palms began to feel sweaty. "I mean, he asked… how far I've… I've gone. And he pointed out how far Keet has… gone. And I guess he thinks that I can't handle Keet because I'm too innocent."

"And this talk of how far you've gone didn't lead to anything else? He just left?"

Fledge narrowed his eyes at Zelda, coming to realize that she possessed some greater knowledge of the situation of which he had not previously been aware. She gazed at him intently, searchingly.

"I mean, what did you think he would say to me?" Fledge asked, playing it safe.

"I don't know, Fledge, but it seems a little peculiar that you invited us into your room as though you had something important and relatively private to tell us and then simply told us that you and Pipit had a bit of a friendly conversation in which he gave you dating advice. I think there's something you're not telling me."

Searching for words, Fledge looked around the room desperately. "I – I don't – I don't really know what you want me to say, Zelda."

"He didn't ask you to do anything? Maybe something involving Link?"

Fledge glared at her, marveling at her omniscient knowledge. "How do you know that?"

She rolled her eyes. "He's starting dropping hints to Link and you're the logical guy to join them. I mean, I doubt he would try to get Link and Keet together for that, which really just leaves you."

He was quiet for a moment. "Do you know how Link feels about it?"

"Well, he's not particularly keen on the idea, but I think he's willing to try it for Pipit." Fledge said nothing. "So he asked you about a threesome. That's it? What did you say to him?"

Fledge groaned, angry with himself for his inability to tell Zelda the truth. "Why do you care so much?"

"Excuse me?! You and Link and hell even Pipit are some of my closest friends, but none of you is known for making smart, responsible decisions in times of stress. I'm just trying to ensure that one of you doesn't make a dumb choice that destroys our friend group."

"You think fucking Link and Pipit is a bad choice?"

She sighed, exasperated. "I don't think you should, but there are worse things you could do. Aren't you and Keet pretty much in a relationship now?"

"I mean, yeah, but it's not like Keet is known for his fidelity, and he wouldn't have to find out anyway. And we're not like technically officially dating, so it wouldn't really be cheating anyway."

"Fledge, can't you hear yourself? If you have to rationalize something like this then it's probably not the best idea!"

"Come on, Zelda, what harm could come of this? Who gets hurt here?"

"Just be careful, okay? Don't do _anything_ with Pipit unless you're certain Link is one hundred percent okay with it, alright?" Fledge stared at her feet, blushing furiously, and his guilt was palpable in the air. "Are you fucking serious?" she asked furiously. "Tell me you didn't fuck Pipit. Fledge, _tell me you didn't fuck Pipit_."

"I didn't fuck Pipit."

"But…?"

"I maybe, just maybe I... sucked his dick. Just a little. I mean, he initiated it."

Zelda glared at him in disbelief. "You can't be fucking serious. You're not serious. This is a joke." He said nothing. "Oh my fucking goddess, you sucked Pipit's dick." She looked at Piper, who was unreadable. "He sucked Pipit's dick." She strode towards him and grabbed his shirt. "YOU SUCKED PIPIT'S DICK. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING, FLEDGE? DIDN'T YOU TAKE A SECOND TO THINK THAT PIPIT ALREADY HAS A BOYFRIEND?"

"YES, ALRIGHT?" Fledge screamed back at her, tears falling hot and thick from his eyes. "Of course I did, but he didn't give me much of a chance."

"YOU DIDN'T JUST BITE HIS DICK OFF?"

"I'M SORRY. I'm sorry. I feel terrible about it."

Zelda laughed frantically. "Oh good, that's good. You feel bad. I'm sure Link will be comforted by your post-fuck guilt. Everything can just go back to normal now, because Fledge feels bad about it."

"Fuck off, Zelda. I feel awful about it, and I don't know what I was thinking. But if you don't tell Link about it, there's no reason to be concerned. I'm not the bad guy here." She calmed and took a step back, clenching her jaw furiously. "I feel like I have to have a threesome with them now to justify sucking Pipit's dick behind Link's back."

She laughed again. "Yeah, you're right. His dick was the contract and you fucking signed it. Now there's no going back. You'd better hope that Link is down, the three of you fuck, and then we move on and act like this never happened. That's the best thing that can happen here. That's our best case scenario."

Furiously, Zelda strode past Fledge and swung the door open, Piper close behind. As she walked away, Fledge called after, "You're not telling him, right?"

She turned. "I won't tell him unless I feel like I need to. For now, you're safe. But I'm disappointed in you, Fledge."

The two girls retreated down the hallway, and Fledge returned to his room. He sat for a few minutes on the bed, frustrated with his own weakness, before deciding he couldn't stand to stay. The room smelled like dick. He pulled the window open, ignoring the rush of cold air, before striding out of the door and exiting the dorm building.

When he reached the outside, he realized he was wearing a sweater and pair of underwear, and quickly hurried to the back of the building where a seldom-used drop of provided the perfect place to gaze at the sky reflectively.

He lay back and sat there for hours, watching the moon traverse the sky as he tried to make sense of the day's events.


	19. Competition

_The Next Day…_

Fledge typically looked forward to lunch.

It was a few minutes in the middle of his school day in which he could relax and enjoy the company of his closest friends as they joked and laughed. Normally, their friend group felt indivisible and above criticism, their own private social environment that was independent of the school's operations.

However, after the events of recent weeks, they felt less like a closely-knit group of friends and more like an awkward assortment of people who used to know one another well but had lost touch.

Granted, they were missing Karane and Peatrice, but no one was complaining as their absence was generally considered to be for the better. However, they had lost the cohesive connection of innocence and youth they had once shared as the aftershock of the drama that had torn their group apart still surfaced in occasional tremors. Pipit's latest behavior, known to all but Link (and possibly Fado, or so Fledge hoped), hung over him all morning and made him dread returning to their normal table in the cafeteria.

He was the first to arrive as usual, and waited somberly for his friends to congregate. Pipit and Link walked in shortly after, holding hands casually.

As soon as they made eye contact, Pipit shook his head almost indecipherably and Fledge took that to mean he had not yet breached the subject with Link. Fledge acknowledge the gesture just as imperceptibly as the couple drew closer, and Link made himself comfortable just to his right.

"Hey Fledge, how's it going?"

"Hi Link," he said, intoxicated by the other boy's free spirited happiness. "It's going okay, I guess. For a Monday, I mean. As well as can be expected."

Link laughed. "I feel that. Oh my Goddess, I meant to ask you; have you seen the new student that replaced Groose?"

"No. Who is he?"

"His name is Ravio, and he is _delicious_. Zelda practically came right there when she saw him first. They seemed to hit it off pretty well, and they had last block together unsupervised so who knows what's been going on between them in the last hour."

"Is he straight?" Fledge asked automatically.

"Yeah, it seems so. Tragically," he added, smirking at Pipit, who rolled his eyes.

"Well, he passes the Zelda test."

Pipit laughed out loud at the unexpected jab and Link's jaw dropped as he stared at Fledge in surprise before he, too, joined in the laughter. "Goddess Hylia, Fledge, have mercy on her soul." Fledge couldn't help but smile in satisfaction at his own joke.

As if to illustrate Link's point, Zelda appeared in the door of the dining hall, followed by one of the most attractive men Fledge had ever seen.

Ravio had a long, assured stride that was intoxicatingly commanding and confident and turned the heads of everyone around him as he passed. He was tall and slender but not lanky, filled by firm muscle. His brown eyes shone violently from beneath a thick curtain of chestnut hair that framed his angular face in a flyaway sweep, lending him an independent, devil-may-care charisma. His shadow of facial hair accented his sharp jawline and Fledge had the unreasonable desire to rub his face against it, and as he smiled his teeth gleamed like precious gems.

Following just a few steps behind Zelda and her new find were Piper and Fado, looking bemused as he watched Ravio ahead. Piper sat down beside Fledge, leaning in and muttering, "He smells so good."

Fado took his place beside her, and Ravio sat directly beside him. Zelda completed the group, filling the empty seat between Ravio and Pipit. "Well Ravio, you met Link and Pipit earlier, but that's Piper and her steady boyfriend Fado." Piper waved shyly to Ravio while Fado glared at her from the corner of his eye. Fledge swore he saw him flex as aggressively greeted Ravio and shook his hand.

Snorting, Link leaned to Fledge's ear and whispered, "I sense some competition coming on."

"Yeah. You mean between Zelda and Piper, right?" he responded under his breath.

Link almost gagged. "Don't be rude. Fado is a very nice guy with many relative assets."

"Compared to this guy? Name one." Link said nothing, pulling away after a moment. Fledge grinned.

"Oh, and this is Fledge," Zelda said, gesturing in his direction. Fledge felt Ravio's eyes on his body as the other boy scrutinized him from across the table.

"Hi, Ravio." Fledge stood to shake the other boy's hand and was startled by how pleasantly smooth and cool it felt, as if it had been carved from stone. Afraid to hold on for too long, Fledge pulled away from the handshake and sat down, nervously wiping his hand on his trousers.

"It's fantastic to meet you, Fledge."

Goddess above, his voice was unnerving. It was deep and authoritative but gentle and calming, rumbling from his throat in clear syllables that gave Fledge chills, reminding him of the ocean, drowsy and gentle but with the potential to be thunderously powerful.

"So Ravio," Piper ventured, "Where are you from? I haven't seen you around Skyloft."

"No, I've never been to Skyloft before now. I'm from Lorule, an island just a couple days ride to the North. My family has lived on Lorule for generations."

"I'll bet that's a big change for you. Is Lorule much different than Skyloft?"

Ravio glanced at Zelda momentarily as she watched him closely. "It's a lot colder. It's already snowing on Lorule, but here it's still warm enough to wear short sleeves."

"You must be brave, to be the first person in your family to leave," Zelda observed dreamily.

He looked at her, and the tension between them was almost visible in the air around them. The rest of the table looked on as they had a seemingly private moment. "Yeah, it was pretty emotional for my father. He runs the trading company that my family has owned for generations and expected me to take over from him. But he did his best to be supportive, and he's got my sister Hilda to take over the business. That's not for me."

"What do you want to do?" Zelda asked, never taking her eyes off him.

"I want to be a knight," he answered, glancing around the table. "Something about the freedom and independence of the Skyloft knights has always attracted me."

Zelda sighed girlishly. "That's a pretty big responsibility. Knights have a lot of jobs to take care of and can be called into combat if Skyloft is threatened. And you get your own sword. I think you'd look good holding a big sword like a real knight."

Link leaned to Fledge and muttered, "Wouldn't we all like to see Ravio holding his big sword?"

"I think that's what she was getting at," Fledge responded.

The two of them snickered together and the conversation progressed as it had before, with Zelda flirting shamelessly, pandering to Ravio's masculinity while he and Link made snide comments to one another under their breath. Fledge reflected that this was the Link he knew and loved, the Link who was one of his best friends, who he had known for years. While he was sure that Link had pleasant privates and would perform spectacularly while riding his cock, this was the Link he didn't want to hurt.

Still, he glanced at Pipit, realizing that Link had moved away from his boyfriend to be closer to him, and felt the tension between them rise. Fledge wasn't planning on telling Link the truth about Pipit in the interest of protecting him, and he guessed that Pipit knew that, but he also knew that Pipit had to be careful after revealing his secret.

"Damn, she has _no_ pride," Link marveled after Zelda made a particularly obvious remark. Ravio seemed to be in conversation with Fado and Piper while Zelda chimed in sycophantically, leaving Fledge, Link and Pipit separate.

Out of nowhere, Pipit whispered, "Fledge tentatively agreed."

Link looked at him in confusion. "Agreed to what?"

"A threesome. With you and me."

Glancing between the two of them, Fledge thought Link would faint. "And you thought now would be the best time to discuss it?"

"Well, when else would you rather discuss it?"

"Literally at any other time in any other place," Link hissed furiously. "I already told you, I don't think I'm comfortable with that anyway, Pipit. And I don't want to put Fledge in that position. I mean, he's seeing Keet now."

"I already talked to Fledge about that, he says it's fine."

Link gazed at him searchingly, and Fledge shrugged. "We're not really dating, Link. I'm not that keen on it either but your boyfriend seems pretty insistent."

Glaring at him, Pipit grumbled, "Fledge, you didn't seem too opposed last night."

Fledge glared back, refusing to break eye contact. "Well, you didn't give me much of a chance to argue. If I remember, I think I choked on something as I was about to start."

Pipit paled. "Fine. Forget about it, Link. Let's just act like this never happened."

"What? That's it? We'll just act like it never happened?"

"Do you have a better idea? I just think it would be hot to have a threesome, but if I'm being outvoted I'll just stop trying. I don't want to force either of you to do something you're not comfortable with."

Link groaned in frustration. "Pipit, I'm not exactly saying no, it's just… there's a lot of things at play here. You could have chosen a much better time to discuss it, and Fledge is kind of in a relationship already, and he's not as experienced as you or me, and don't you think it would a little awkward? Do we really need that extra complication added to our relationship, not just between the two of us but with Fledge as well? And how do you think that the group as a whole would react?"

"Okay," Pipit hissed. "I get it. No threesome."

"I'm sorry, Pipit."

"It's fine. It was just an idea. But I totally understand, it's not an easy thing to do, and I get it. Like I said, I don't want to make you do anything you're uncomfortable with."

"Thank you. I love you."

They kissed, but Fledge caught Pipit's eye as their mouths came together, and he got the feeling that he hadn't heard the last of this.


	20. Another Dreamy Interlude

ReluctantHero (I wish you'd come off anon so I could address you directly you heathen) – thank you so much for your reviews, I really love reading the feedback you give me and try to use it to make this story better. I will try to address everything as briefly as possible.

I personally don't think Groose fully raped Fledge (meaning anal penetration), but there is definitely a fine line (I mean what he did qualifies as rape, hands down, but like I said I don't know if that makes him gay). I think you should read or at least skim through NDIL to get a better understand of Pipit (you could honestly start with chapter 7 and figure out the first six chapters from there).

Have you smelled penises and balls? They're smelly. I mean yes, if they are freshly washed then they're alright, but in my experience giving blowjobs, I can usually smell them on my breath for at least a good hour (unless I brush my teeth or drink a lot of something which I normally do). My description of Fledge's first blowjob in 16 is literally just my memory of my first blowjob that was not particularly pleasant. All I can remember now is how uncomfortable it was and how gross he tasted and how I couldn't breathe.

Okay, regarding KARANE: I have, as per your urging, added her back in to the plot in a way I *hope* will work. Wait and see and tell me what you think (this goes for everyone reading this).

Fledge is weak but not inexcusably so – he's just inexperienced and in waaaaay over his head. In the next few chapters I think you'll see him grow a backbone just a little bit. And come on, I like Fledge being sad and weak, it makes me want to just wrap him up in a big blanket and hug him and give him tea.

Your note about Ravio (and indeed your notes about characters who deviate from the game in any way) are somewhat derivative because they're all essentially OC's. I mean, come on, Ravio doesn't have that much personality in LBW, so I just gave him one. I'm sorry about the eyes, I should have looked up his eye color. As for the rest of them, I think if you read NDIL you'd get a better understanding of their characters as they are now.

As for Zelda, I stand by her pathetic flirting because she just thinks this guy is hot and fuckable. I mean come on, she's the center of their group and they all know she's a badass, so she's got nothing to prove. And these kids aren't the innocent lovelies from Skyward Sword (at least, not after NDIL). She's just going after that dick.

Speaking of which, I desperately wanted to write a threesome scene with Pipit, Link and Fledge, so here's another dream (these are just excuses to write pure porn that doesn't affect and isn't affected by the plot in any way). This chapter took me the longest to write of any so far, but I think it turned out pretty well.

LINE BREAK HERE

Fledge didn't know what he had done to deserve this. He didn't have much romantic experience, and far less sexual experience. He'd only seen a handful of male members in his life, and only one of those had been fully erect. He wasn't the type to dream of sexual encounters, whether in his own bed or in a particularly boring class, and he certainly didn't typically dream of this specific occurrence.

But here he was, very naked and feeling very exposed as he stood in the floor of Pipit's dorm room, overwhelmed and over-stimulated by the two tongues that made contact with his body. One greedily explored his mouth, pushing invasively through his lips and becoming steadily more intimate with the working, shape, and taste of his own tongue, while the other focused its ministrations around or on his manhood, slowly trailing its way from the base to the tip and swirling around the head to elicit a ravenous moan before it was joined by a pair of lips taking the length fully.

He and Pipit stood side-by-side, connected by the thousands of points where their bodies came together, tongues trembling as they tryst together. With his free hand, Fledge tantalized the other boy with teasing whispers of touch as his fingers lightly traced a path along his spine, making him shudder in quiet ecstasy. He would sometimes bring his fingers up to twine through Pipit's hair, fluttering up his straining neck and then heavily raking his fingers through the sweaty tangle. Then his hand would dip down, following the curvature of his back to tease at his desperate entrance, masterfully massaging between Pipit's cheeks and relishing the wanton whimpers that emanated from the boy. Along his own straining muscles he felt the same evocation, losing himself to Pipit's fingers as they probed at the lust between his legs.

Fledge was euphorically aware of Link below them, reminded of his presence only by the urgency of his tenacious tongue. He mingled with Pipit indiscriminately, and Link would often take the two of them together in his mouth, allowing their heads to meet and gush against one another, groaning in a plea for pleasure that only submission to Link's succulent stimulation could satisfy. He stiffened as Link rubbed the head of his manhood against the bristle of his chin or struck its full length across his cheek, relishing the lingering slap of the wetness against the boy's skin.

Shuffling back on his knees, Link released his hold of the two boys above him, taking a break to catch his breath and savor the salty taste that boiled on his tongue. Fledge's hand responsively groped for his abandoned manhood left to gently gyrate over Pipit's. He squeezed the two lengths together in one fist, stroking them tenderly and purring in pleasure as the tension throbbed between their thighs. His chest rubbed against the other boy as their tongues mirrored their erections below, merging together in fervor, and his skin seared where Pipit's satin skin slid sensually across his own.

Pipit broke away, severing the compelling contact between their bodies but casually taking ahold of Fledge's aching desire, stroking subconsciously while watching Link. The other boy was sprawled across Pipit's bed, legs spread wide as his fingers stretched his entrance. His mouth hung wide as he gasped in ecstasy, rocking in time with the motion of his fingers, and Fledge could see droplets of his sticky spill mingling with Pipit's amidst the beads of sweat on the boy's face. Pipit growled low, like a cat enticed by the presentation of another in heat, and crawled atop his lover, position his full erection over Link's mouth while taking the boy's so far neglected member into his tight throat. Fledge enjoyed the sight of the two boys mutually pleasuring one another for a moment, stroking himself as he was engulfed by the wet pops and slurps that emanated from the activity.

He could only resist for so long, however, and was eventually enticed by Link's unused entrance that puckered and contorted as Pipit's teasing incited spasms throughout the boy beneath him. Fledge buried his face in Link's cheeks, tonguing the opening that throbbed with aching pleasure urgently as the other boy's keening calls excited his ears and electrified his eagerness. Liquid from Pipit's sloppy attention just inches above dripped over Link's excruciatingly sumptuous balls and rolled onto Fledge's tongue as he stoked Link's internal fire, coveting the boy's entrance as he quivered and clenched, calling for more. Fledge occasionally brought his lips to Pipit's, sharing the tastes of Link that were ablaze on both of their tongues.

After a few minutes, his aching length was crying out desperately for attention. Fledge stood and allowed Pipit to take it in his throat, shuddering in pleasure as his manhood was swallowed by the other boy. He enjoyed the moist warmth of Pipit's mouth as his tongue worked frenetically around his head, stiffening as the other boy's attention brought him closer to the edge of release. His muscles shuddered and his palms became cold and sweaty as a buzz rang through his ears, but before he quite reach the point of release, Pipit's mouth suddenly retreated.

He wasn't quite sure he was aware of what happened next, because it felt like a dream, but Pipit's silken hand guided his pulsating erection to Link's entrance, positioning the heavy head of his manhood directly between Link's legs, stretching the boundaries of his entrance as Fledge penetrated the other boy. The muscles in his legs quaked as he felt his thick length fill Link and watched Link's eyes roll back into his head in raw rapture. He gripped Pipit tightly as he took Fledge to the hilt, releasing a wet whimper as he felt Fledge's advance grind to a halt.

Fledge paused for a moment, savoring the smoldering sensation that roiled through his body as he felt Link's muscles shifting to accommodate his size in their midst. He fought to overcome the oblivion that threatened to overcome him and began to thrust into the boy beneath him, gripping his taught thighs for support. He rocked back and forth against Link's hips, allowing Pipit's tongue to meet his own again as the sensation emanating from between his legs sent shockwaves from his toes to his ears and he rumbled raggedly into the other boy's mouth.

Pipit moved, clambering down from Link's writhing form and circling around behind Fledge, who felt firm hands force him to bend over between Link's legs. His skin thrilled where it touched Link's sweaty, straining form, and he savored the minute muscular shifts as the rhythm of his lust heightened helplessly or slowed in lethargy. He took Link into a kiss, tasting the sweet flavor of Pipit mingling with his own.

Moments later, Fledge felt a strong staff at his entrance and pulsed back, trembling with unappeased torment, onto Pipit's dominating lust, a guttural growl escaping his lips unbidden. He fell into a mindless ecstasy after settling on to Pipit's full size, rolling heavily from his effusive repose against Pipit to engulf Link in a tempest of impassioned triumph, rocking back and forth between the two like the tides of the ocean, losing himself to the pleasure he received with each to-and-fro of his hips.

Fledge continued, intoxicated by the slap of his thick cheeks against Pipit's finely sculpted abdomen as he sank back and the sharp pop as he surged forward and snapped his hips into Link's eager desire. Once again, he brought himself closer to a climax as the double sensation of Pipit's length and Link's entrance overwhelmed him, but once again he was deprived as Pipit suddenly pulled away, leaving Fledge's entrance clenching rhythmically as it anticipated the stimulus' return. However, Pipit pushed Fledge a few steps back from Link and helped the other boy sit up. Fledge absent-mindedly fingered the entrance between his cheeks, feeling sadly cold and lonely after Pipit's welcome warmth.

Sitting beside Link at the edge of the bed, Pipit lifted the other boy up and then settled him down straight onto his own length, occupying the space Fledge's manhood had filled just moments before. Link cried out at the unexpected addition but instinctively began rocking back against Pipit's hips. Fledge stroked himself idly as he watched before Link reached out and took him in his hand, guiding him forward by his manhood before taking Fledge's full length into his throat.

The sensation of Link's tongue provoking his head maddeningly elicited a great groan of frustration from Fledge and he began to piston his hips against Link's warmth, relishing the moist sound of his throbbing balls slapping against the boy's chin. The harsh pops that heralded the connection of Link's firm cheeks with Pipit's equally strong hips increased in frequency, and Link began to whimper rhythmically around Fledge's member. As Pipit braced himself against the bed on his elbows and began to thrust his length into Link with purpose, the boy astride him began to call out in earnest, choking on Fledge as he did so. He pulled his length out from Link's mouth and the boy began to scream as his entire body quaked around the pressure from Pipit's restless ravaging of his entrance.

Anticipating that Link was close to the edge, Fledge pushed the other boy back onto Pipit harder and took his neglected length into his mouth, expertly manipulative his tongue to further stimulate Link's maleness. Just seconds later, the boy let out an animal scream and exploded into Fledge's mouth. Keeping his hands away from his own length for fear he might do the same, Fledge savored every drop of Link's seed, swirling it over his swelling member and almost choking on the sheer size of the load before swallowing it down and slurping at the head of Link's manhood to collect any remaining drops.

Then he felt his palms ice over as sweat dripped from every corner and crevice of his body and knew he was on the edge of climax. Link needed no instruction, desperately taking Fledge's length into the depth of his throat and drinking in the sticky liquid that already leaked from the head. Fledge remained silent as his body entered the convulsions of his climax, only gasping for breath as he released his load directly into Link's throat. At almost the same moment, Pipit called out in hunger and roughly slammed his hips into Link, eyes rolling as he lost himself to the sensation of his orgasm.

After drinking his last drops, Link took Fledge into a captivated kiss, and the tastes of their seed mingled together on their tongues as they shared. Link collapsed a moment later beside Pipit, pulling Fledge down beside him, and the three of them lay there beside one another in silence, allowing the experience of what they had just done to sink in.

Pipit laughed. Link rolled over and kissed him, but his hand found Fledge's cock and Fledge knew that they were far from finished.


	21. Flaws

Took a holiday break from writing over Christmas but I'm back now!

ReluctantHero – Thank you for the review. I have played LBW (although only once through immediately after its release) and I didn't get much of an impression from Ravio. Honestly, though, it doesn't matter. I could easily change his name in this story and make him a full OC and the character would be exactly the same. To be fair, though, I left myself room to play around with Ravio because he's only got a few lines so far and he's BRAND NEW to their school so he's not exactly in his element… I'm just saying don't write my Ravio off as a total waste of the LBW character just yet.

I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter (it was sort of my Christmas present) and I did originally end it with Fledge fucking Pipit until they both came, but it just didn't feel right… I want to keep consistent with Pipit's characterization as the dominating, controlling man, even in the dream, and I couldn't see him being fucked by Fledge (and certainly not Link, although I agree that would be hot).

This next chapter is comparatively tame, but there has to be a plot somewhere, right?

* * *

A cool breeze blew in through the open window as they passed the afternoon in Zelda's dorm.

Fledge sat on her bed, attempting to focus on his homework, and Zelda did the same from the desk just beside him. Link, however, was sprawled in the floor after declaring that the assignment was a pointless exercise as he would never learn it anyway. He talked incessantly to Fledge and Zelda, an active nuisance as they worked.

"What did Pipit mean when he said 'last night'?"

He glanced up, startled, but Zelda beat him to answering the question. "What? When did Pipit say that?"

Link glared at Zelda jokingly for a moment as he said, "I was asking Fledge, your majesty."

She rolled her eyes. "Well you should have made that clearer."

He looked back to Fledge expectantly, and he gulped uncomfortably. "I don't remember what you're talking about. When did he say 'last night'?"

"He said you seemed okay with it 'last night'."

Mind furiously racing to piece together an acceptable version of the meeting he had shared with Pipit, he glanced at Zelda, who raised her eyebrows curiously. "Well, he sort of came to my room the night before to talk to me about Keet, and we were talking about his… sexual appetite. And I guess that sort of led to talking about Pipit's sexual appetite, and he just sort of asked me if I wanted to."

Fledge furiously avoided Zelda's gaze.

Link rolled his eyes, groaning. "I'm sorry he did that, I told him to just drop it and used you as my excuse to not be enthusiastic. I guess he thought if he could prove to me that you were alright with it I'd have no reservations."

"It's fine, honestly. I mean, it was a little awkward, but it wasn't too bad. I didn't really know what to say but I told him that I wasn't like totally against it."

Glancing at Zelda, Link explained, "To bring you up to speed," he began, but she cut him off.

"Pipit wants a threesome. Yeah, Fledge told me."

Link looked peeved. "Fledge told you? When did he do that?"

"I ran into her a little while after and… well, you know how good she is at getting you to tell her what's on your mind. I told her all about it."

"So you guys aren't going to have a threesome?" she demanded.

Smacking her leg, Link tutted. "Sorry that we aren't going to fulfill your deepest fantasy, but Fledge and I outvote Pipit two-to-one so yeah I think that's the verdict."

Fledge tried to ignore the meaningful look Zelda shot his direction and push the guilt to the back of his mind. He didn't see how telling Link the truth now would help the situation in any way, but he could easily see how it might damage their relationship, so he kept his silence.

"He didn't say anything else to you, did he? What did he say about Keet?"

"Just that he didn't want to watch Keet hurt me the way he hurt him and that he thinks of me as a brother and doesn't think it's a good idea for me to be seeing him."

"Goddess, he is such a dick sometimes. I'm really sorry."

Fledge glanced around uncomfortably. "Yeah, I wasn't really gonna say anything, but he seems really pushy. Like, if things aren't going his way, he's gonna make them go his way."

Sighing, Link looked away from him sadly. "I've started to notice that too. In fact, I've started to notice a lot of things about Pipit that I never noticed before. I mean, I thought we were in love, but we've only been properly together for three weeks and I'm already starting to feel like it's been years."

A heavy silence hung over the room after he said this, and Fledge suddenly put his homework aside and climbed off of the bed, laying in the floor beside Link. They were close, but not touching excessively, and Fledge felt something unspoken pass between them. Their relationship had changed dramatically over the last few weeks, but they were, essentially, best friends, and Fledge was grateful for that. He swore to himself that he would always be there for Link and would never allow himself to hurt the other boy.

They lay there for several minutes in silence, each entertained by his own thoughts, while Zelda reclined over them in her chair introspectively. Suddenly, Zelda rose and left the room without offering an explanation.

It was silent for another minute.

"Fledge, is it bad if I'm thinking I might not be happy with Pipit?"

He was quiet as he formed an answer in his head. "I think the most important part of a relationship is that you're both happy. If you're not happy, then that's a big problem, and I think you're definitely allowed to be unhappy."

"But what do I do about it? I don't want to just give up on him."

Fledge bit his lip, very tempted to tell Link the truth. However, he was worried that Link would be angry with him and couldn't bring himself to say anything about it. Instead, he answered, "Do what your heart tells you, Link. If you think the best solution is to break up with him, then that's what you've gotta do."

"It's just that we went through so much shit to get here, with Keet and Karane, and it doesn't seem fair to throw all that work away after just a few weeks. And I don't really know how I feel. I mean, I thought I loved him, Fledge, but I don't really know if that's true anymore."

Fledge sighed dutifully. "What's wrong, though? Why are you getting the feeling that you might not be happy with him?"

Link turned his head to look at him, and Fledge saw the confusion and pain in his eyes. "I don't know. There's no big think that I can pinpoint as the reason it's not working, our relationship was always just so easy before all this. We were best friends, and it was effortless, like I am with Zelda or you. But romance and sex adds another level to relationships that I don't know if I was ready for. I mean, I only had the one before Pipit, but Nico and I were too young to really have something serious. I feel like this isn't what I expected, and what I wanted, when I was falling in love with Pipit. I put him on this pedestal, even forgave him for Keet, but I'm starting to realize that he's not perfect."

"I mean, yeah. Relationships are never easy, but you have to _want_ to put in the work. Both of you do. If that doesn't happen, the relationship can't really happen. And of course he's not perfect, nobody is. He's always had flaws Link, before they just didn't matter as much because it was easier to get away from him if you wanted to."

"I know. I've always known that he was pretty demanding and could be pushy about certain things, but that takes on a new meaning in a relationship. He's pretty good at getting me to do things I wouldn't normally do."

Fledge rolled his eyes. "Like what?" He could practically feel Link blush.

"Just things that I wouldn't normally be comfortable with. In places I wouldn't normally do those things."

"Well if that's a big problem for you and majorly interfering with your relationship then you just need to tell him. It won't do any good to tell me about it."

He scoffed. "You're kidding, right? I really needed to talk to someone, and you didn't make me feel like an incompetent idiot."

"That's what I'm here for," Fledge said slyly, winking. He turned to look at Link and found himself nose to nose with the other boy.

"But seriously, thank you, Fledge." Fledge felt tension spark between the two of them, the old sort of tension that he always hoped for but never seemed to encounter with the other boy. However, he rolled his eyes and smirked easily.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt. Not again."

They lay in silence after that, staring up at the ceiling together.


	22. Afraid of the Past

ReluctantHero – for so dutifully reviewing this story, I will deliver a story regarding Peatrice's struggle with her sexuality and the dubious sexuality one or some female characters in this story and NDIL that has been brewing in my mind for some time. I'm not exactly sure how big this set of stories will get, but it has potential to keep growing indefinitely. Currently I'm considering this side-story (although this story started as a side-story) and a sequel more in the style of NDIL told from Zelda's (and possibly Link's) POV. I definitively do not hate you by now, I'm very grateful for your criticism and praise, and I look forward to your reviews as much as you look forward to my chapters (if not more).

* * *

Fledge grimaced nervously as he swung open the door to his dorm.

He watched Keet as the other boy entered and surveyed the room, reading his face for clues to his reaction. The room was not too messy; he had made his bed and tidied his desk in anticipation of Keet's visit. He sniffed, testing the air, concerned that it might smell stale.

Opening the window, he glanced back at Keet. "Sorry if it smells a little, but I don't really give it very much ventilation."

Keet smirked. "It smells fine, Fledge. Relax, alright?"

Groaning, half in amusement and half in frustration with himself, he lowered himself onto the bed. "I know, it's just a big deal for me. I didn't want to scare you away with the state of my room."

A laugh followed, and Keet sat beside him on the bed, placing his slender hand on Fledge's easily. "If you think this is bad, you should see my room." He crinkled his nose. "On second thought, maybe you should steer clear of my room. But seriously, this is pretty clean Fledge."

He lay back on the bed, pulling Fledge back with him. The two reclined side by side together, staring at the ceiling in companionable silence. Fledge thought back to his conversation with Link from the previous night, reflecting that he was just as conflicted about Keet. On the one hand, he enjoyed spending time with Keet and knew that he was his best chance to keep a boyfriend. However, on the other hand, he knew that Pipit was right about Keet's dubious background and potential to be a bad influence.

If he was being honest with himself, he still wasn't sure he was ready for a sexual relationship, particularly after what he had heard from Link regarding the other boy's relationship with Pipit. And as sexually experienced as Keet was, the other boy had some questionable ideas about the nature of relationship roles that put Fledge off a bit.

"How many guys have you been with?" He didn't know where it came from, but all of a sudden it was out.

Keet propped himself up on an elbow. "Where did that come from?"

Fledge smiled apologetically. "I just think we should be clear about that so we both know what we're getting into with this."

Narrowing his eyes, Keet sat up properly. "I know what I'm getting into; I'm spending time with a really cute guy who I like to be with and who gives amazing blowjobs for such an innocent boy." Keet placed his hand on Fledge's stomach, giving him butterflies.

"That's sweet. It's just… a lot of people have… warned me that I might be… in over my head. And I wanted to just get to understand you better."

Keet groaned. "Fine, I'll tell you. I mean, you have to define 'been with'."

Blushing a little, Fledge put his hand on top of Keet's, holding it against his stomach. "Like, how many men have you done stuff with… like past kissing."

"Thirteen. Counting you."

Fledge absently stroked Keet's hand as he stared at the blank ceiling. He'd been expecting a much higher number, although he supposed thirteen wasn't exactly low. He certainly didn't know twelve gay guys. But he'd expected Keet to lose track after number thirty and give him a general estimate.

"But I've never been in an official relationship before."

"Are you in an official relationship now?"

"I don't know."

There was a moment of very heavy silence, and then Fledge pulled Keet back down beside him on the bed. They were quiet, but Fledge kept a grip on Keet's hand.

In the silence, Fledge heard a quiet sniffle and quickly glanced to Keet. A tear leaked from the corner of his eye. Fledge propped himself up onto an elbow. "Hey, what's wrong? What did I say?"

Furiously, Keet wiped the tear from his eye and shook his head. "It's nothing. I'm just being stupid."

"No. Come on, tell me. What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "You're gonna think I'm dumb."

"I promise I won't think that." When Keet shook his head again, Fledge kissed him softly on the lips, using the side of his hand to wipe more tears away gently. "Keet, tell me what's wrong."

Keet refused to look at him. "I'm just afraid."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that you don't want to spend time with me because of all the things I've done in the past. I'm afraid that I'll never be able to make a relationship work because all I've ever been is another mouth for the next cock in line. I don't know why someone like you would waste your time on me."

Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he spoke, and he gazed intently at the ceiling, refusing to meet Fledge's eye. However, Fledge wrapped the other boy close, pressing their bodies together comfortingly. He kissed the other boy's cheek, ignoring the salty taste of his tears. "Keet, you're already making this work. As long as you're willing to help me, we can have a real relationship. I'm not like those other guys, I'm not here to just use you for sex."

The smallest trace of a smile graced Keet's lips, and he let out a shuddering breath. "Really? You think we can make a relationship work? You don't hate me because of what I've done."

Fledge kissed his cheek again. "I'll admit that twelve is a pretty high number for me, and the thought of twelve guys having you before me makes me a tiny bit jealous, but I've moved on from that and I want to help you move on from that as well."

They kissed again, and Fledge rested his hand lightly on Keet's cheek. "I don't deserve you," Keet murmured.

"Hush," Fledge admonished through their kiss, rolling atop the other boy to bring their bodies closer together.


	23. To Understand Why

ReluctantHero – DO NOT come for my cute Fledge/Link fluffy talks, because they are my life (just kidding thanks for the reviews). But seriously, I think that neither Link nor Fledge are particularly "bro" in the sense that they can't show any feelings around one another, and Fledge's relationship with Link is one of the most important because the essentially came away from the experience the same (they were close friends before, they're close friends now), but so much has changed between them that the content of their friendship has changed (namely, Link feels comfortable talking to Fledge about this stuff). I also have to bear in mind the possibility of Link and Fledge ending up together at some point (not saying for sure whether that will occur but it might).

Pipit thinks he's dominant, and that's how Link has always perceived him. But before, it was in a romantic, manly, sweep-me-off-my-feet way, and now it's in more of a pushy and almost controlling manner that Link is less comfortable with.

I've just begun to form a Peatrice story in my mind… and I think I will be using Kina. The problem with this is I have no idea how female anatomy works because it literally disgusts me so it will probably exclude explicit scenes like my dreamy interludes or shower encounters. However, the idea of this story has taken root in the furthest reaches of my mind and I will do my best to bring it to life (probably gonna take a break from writing for the next semester though).

I don't know if Keet would enjoy topping – I'd always considered myself vers until I tried topping and thought oh hell no - - - do not see the appeal, was not pleasant, 0/10 would not recommend. Be that as it may, I may explore the possibility if/when Fledge and Keet knock boots.

Saw your reviews for NDIL, not going to address here. As for your review on chapter five, you're absolutely right and I don't know what I was thinking (I mean people mentioned it to me at the time I wasn't just oblivious to it but I don't know I guess I thought I was justified in including it… I wrote this almost two years ago so… give me something). Go back and check it again now, it's fixed.

* * *

In some ways, the shower had always provided Fledge a place of refuge from the real world, where he could mull over his thoughts and try to make sense of them all. He could focus on the sensation of the boiling water sluicing over his skin, the individual points of contact as each droplet landed on his shoulders, the tingle that rose within him as the warmth reached his core and relaxed his muscles.

That evening, he took a particularly long shower, reflecting over his relationship with Keet and Link's relationship with Pipit and how it might all come to an end. Because as much as he enjoyed spending time with Keet, he didn't think they'd last. Honestly, he was as surprised as anyone they'd made it this long.

As for Link and Pipit, it was clear that their relationship had entered the final stages. Fledge didn't want to Link to be hurt again, but was starting to think the two broke it off sooner rather than later, after Pipit had the chance to go out and find a replacement for Keet. Still, he couldn't bring himself to tell him the truth of Pipit's secret flaw, particularly after the effort Link had made to introduce him to Keet and the evolution their friendship had endured throughout, and settled to hope that it would eventually manifest itself.

He knew this was wrong. He knew in his heart he should tell Link the truth of what had occurred between him and Pipit. He knew that Link would forgive him, the way he forgave Pipit and Keet before him. But he couldn't.

And he knew that he needed to be stronger. If not for himself, then for his friend.

Turning off the shower, Fledge dried at his leisure, confident he would not be interrupted this time of night. His eyes couldn't help but flicker momentarily to the stall next to his and he briefly imagined Link and Pipit inside, but he quickly banished these thoughts from his mind, ashamed.

After drying thoroughly, he gathered his belongings and departed the deserted washroom. The hallways were drafty and cold, and he wished he'd gotten dressed before making his way back to his room instead of holding a towel loosely about his waist. Still, he made it to his room without freezing to death and without meeting another student of the Academy.

He noticed Pipit as soon as he swung open the door. The boy sat cross-legged on his bed amidst his pillows and his blankets, wearing nothing but a baggy shirt and a pair of underwear.

"What the hell, Pipit? What are you doing here?" Fledge demanded, throwing his toiletries into his desk chair and securing his hold on the towel that hung from his hips.

Pipit smirked, watching him intently. The air buzzed with tension. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

"I didn't ask. I want to know what you're doing in here."

The other boy stretched his legs out languorously, nestling himself deeper into Fledge's pillows, doing nothing to disguise the obvious bulge beneath his shirt. "I just thought maybe we could talk. You know, the way we talked the other night."

Fledge eyed him uncertainly. "I don't know if that's wise."

"Relax, Fledge, this is all just talk. Nobody's doing anything yet."

"Yet?"

"Yeah, well, I can't promise that the talk won't lead to something other than talk, if you know what I mean… but, for now, it's just talk. We're just hanging out. Like friends."

"Like friends. But we're not friends. Not really." Fledge was conscious that Pipit's hand was now resting on the bulge in his underpants. Just talk.

"That's okay," Pipit said, giggling a bit. His cheeks were bright red, and it occurred to Fledge that Pipit may have been drinking. "We don't have to be friends. That's the biggest lie of relationships, isn't it? Hardly anyone is friends with anyone. You and I aren't friends. I don't know if we ever were. Keet and I aren't friends. I don't know if we ever were. Even Link and I… I don't know if we're friends now." A tear rolled down his cheek and he closed his eyes tightly, as if he was blocking out the world. "Can I tell you a secret? Link and I aren't friends. He hates me. I know he does and I know why he does and I see myself doing these things and I can't stop myself and I don't know _why_. Fledge, that's all I want. I want to know _why_."

"I can't help you, Pipit."

"Nobody can!" Pipit suddenly shouted, hysterical. Then he mumbled, "Nobody can. I know I need to leave Link. I need to leave him now so that I won't hurt him again. I know I need to leave him." He looked into Fledge's eyes calmly, and Fledge could see the pain and confusion in them that mirrored what he had seen in Link's. "ISN'T MY HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE, AT LEAST?" he bellowed unexpectedly, surging forward and standing at the edge of the bed, just feet from Fledge.

He suddenly seemed to lose his balance and fall backwards onto the bed. His shirt came up, and Fledge caught a glimpse of his head peeking out from the top of his underpants. He lay there for a moment, arms clamped around his face, until he stood again, more cautiously this time.

"It's okay, though. You're going to help me. You're gonna make it all better. Just this one last time, and then it'll be over. I'll be able to tell myself no. Enough. Just one last time."

Pipit advanced on him, and he didn't resist as the other boy reached a hand down and untucked the towel around his waist, letting it fall to the floor. Fledge's cock sprang out and was met by Pipit's hand. The two boys never broke eye contact as Pipit stroked Fledge softly.

"He's coming. He should be here any moment."

"Who, Link?" Fledge asked, shuddering at Pipit's ministrations. "I thought he was pretty opposed to the idea."

"Oh yes," Pipit agreed, "He was."

He took Fledge into a kiss, keeping his hand on the other boy's cock. Fledge didn't particularly enjoy kissing Pipit, especially when he tasted so strongly of alcohol, but he allowed the boy's tongue to explore his mouth and allowed Pipit's hands to continue their work between his legs.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Pipit stepped away from Fledge and opened the door. Fledge, expecting to see Link, was unpleasantly surprised to find himself completely naked with a fully hard length in front of Keet.

"WHAT THE FUCK, PIPIT?"

"What? You agreed to this."

Fledge furiously pulled the towel back up around his hips. "I never agreed to this. This. Is. Cheating. Pipit. You are cheating on Link."

"But Fledge, we talked about this. You get the sex you've been dreaming of, Keet gets the sex he wants, I get the sex I need, and Link never hears a word of it."

"Hold on," Keet said, entering the room fully and closing the door. "Pipit, you told me Fledge was on board with this."

Fledge turned to him angrily. "Why the hell would you agree to this? What about all the stuff you said last night, about never being anything other than another mouth for the next cock? What about your fear that you'll never have a real relationship?"

"I only agreed to this because I thought you agreed to this!"

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD I AGREE TO THIS?" Fledge screamed.

"I DON'T KNOW, I JUST DID IT BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE YOU HAPPY."

"DAMMIT. You were making me happy, just by being with me. I never wanted this. And if I wanted to fuck you, I wouldn't want to do it with Pipit, _who is in a relationship_."

Keet stepped forward. "What the hell, Pipit? You told me you and Link were breaking up but just hadn't made it public yet. You told me that Fledge agreed to this."

"YOU TOLD HIM THAT YOU'RE BREAKING UP WITH LINK TO COERCE HIM INTO HAVING A THREESOME WITH US?" Fledge raved, turning back to Pipit in disgust.

"Fledge, I thought we had this all figured out." He took a step forward as well, spreading his hands in assured peace and confidence in his own seductive skill. "Now, come on. Are you gonna tell Link about this, ruin him for other men and maybe ruin his life? Maybe ruin your relationship with him too? Maybe lose all the friends you care about?"

Tears streamed down Fledge's cheeks. He looked at Keet in despair, and he saw genuine anger and concern in his eyes. Pipit took another step forward and began reaching for Fledge's towel again. "Or are you going to go along with this and keep it good and secret so that nobody gets hurt?"

"No. No. No, Pipit." Fledge backed away towards the door. "I'm not doing this. I was weak before, but I'm not going to hurt Link like this. Maybe telling him now will hurt him, but not as badly as he'll be hurt if he finds out you've been cheating on him on and off for years. And maybe telling him now will cost me our friendship, but it'll be worth it. To make sure he doesn't stay with you."

Fledge opened the door and stood to one side. "Fledge, come on," Pipit said cajolingly, as if he had been joking. "You're being dramatic. This isn't a big deal. Link will never know."

Staring at him in disgust, Fledge shook his head. "You had a chance. You really did. He forgave you for what you did to him, he trusted you, he loved you. And you threw that into the door and stepped all over it. For what? A threesome with me and Keet? Just because you want two mouths sharing the taste of your cock?"

Pipit looked to Keet. "You don't want this? You don't want two cocks at once, all to yourself? Come on, Keet, you and I can convince him."

Fledge glared at Keet, trying to communicate that this was his time to choose between a relationship and an endless line of dicks. He and Keet held extended eye contact, and the other boy nodded imperceptibly. "I just agreed to this because I wanted to make Fledge happy. If he doesn't want to do this, then I definitely don't want to do this."

"Get the fuck out of here, Pipit. Get out. I don't want to see you ever again."

Glaring over his shoulder, Pipit left, and Fledge slammed the door behind him. Keet opened his mouth as if to speak, but Fledge interrupted him. "I understand. I believe you. And I forgive you. I know you want a relationship, and I do too. And I think it's safe to say that we are in a relationship."

Keet sighed happily and grinned. "Really?"

Fledge kissed him, smiling. "You're first one. I'm honored."

They laughed. Then Fledge pulled away. "Come on, we've got to go to Zelda. She'll know how to handle this. She's always there for me. For all of us really."

Fledge pulled some clothes on as Keet checked the hallway to ensure Pipit had left, and then the two of them set out, hand in hand.


	24. Still Could Be

Imagination that – don't know where the site took your review but it's in my inbox so I'll answer it here… glad you're back, I'm always keen to hear your thoughts on each chapter. I was very on the fence about whether to keep Fledge and Keet together for most of this story, but I think I've made up my mind. As for Karane and Groose, I hope you'll be surprised at what I've got in store there.

* * *

"HE WHAT?!"

Fledge winced in spite of himself. He stood beside Keet in Zelda's dorm room, and she had just furiously risen from her desk to face him. "He wanted to do it with me and Keet." Zelda glared at the other boy over his shoulder, but Fledge caught on. "Keet didn't know, Pipit told him that I wanted to and only was doing it for me. As soon as he realized that Pipit was lying he backed out."

"Are you fucking serious?" Zelda demanded.

He nodded.

Rubbing her temples, she sat heavily on the side of the bed. "Okay. Tell me what happened exactly."

Fledge joined her on the bedside, leaving Keet standing over them. "Well, he was waiting in my room as I came back from the shower. Hylia only knows how he got in. And he started telling me that he and Link weren't working out, and that he knew he needed to leave him."

"Why doesn't he just leave him?" Keet asked.

He cracked his neck. "I think he's scared, and he doesn't have the guts to do it. He knows that if he keeps pushing Link's boundaries or doing things he's not supposed to do, their relationship will eventually just deteriorate. That's why I think it's time to end this, on our terms, once and for all."

"Then what happened?"

"Well, he told me that someone was coming to join us, and I assumed he meant Link, so I let him…" Fledge blushed. "I let him take off my towel and… get started. And then when I saw Keet I almost couldn't believe it."

Keet laughed. "You believed it, alright, and you were mad. You were ready to tear me a new one."

"I'm sorry," Fledge said genuinely, taking his hand. "I thought maybe you were in on this with him. I thought maybe you wanted to get back at Link."

Spreading his hands, Keet sat beside Fledge. "I have nothing against Link. As far as I'm concerned, I owe him one. He got rid of that piece of shit Pipit and introduced me to you. I couldn't have asked for anyone better." Keet kissed him on the cheek, smiling.

Zelda groaned. "Gays," she muttered under her breath.

"Anyway," Fledge continued, ignoring her, "He tried to convince us to go along with it. He doesn't think we'll tell Link because we're too concerned with protecting him, but in a way I think he wants us to do it. He wouldn't be acting so reckless if he didn't."

"Because you think he knows he's bad for Link but doesn't have the balls to break up with him himself."

"Exactly. He's stuck now, and he consciously or unconsciously wants our help."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Zelda stood mechanically and strode over, her movements sharp and hurried with frustration. She flung the door open and Fledge was surprised to see Karane in the doorway.

"How's the report going?" she asked cryptically.

"What the hell are you doing here, Karane?" Zelda said through a clenched jaw. "What report? What are you talking about?"

Karane fluttered her eyes and leaned against the door frame, and Fledge caught a glimpse of Peatrice behind her. They held eye contact for a moment before Peatrice looked down at the floor pointedly. Fledge wished he could speak to her without Karane watching over them.

"Oh, I just figured that Fledge was reporting back to you after fucking Link's boyfriend."

Fledge paled, and Keet tensed perceptibly next to him. Zelda, it seemed, masked her surprise. "What? Why would say something like that?"

Rolling her eyes, Karane almost giggled. "Well, I was just stopping by for a quick visit when I saw Pipit leave Fledge's room wearing nothing but a shirt with his underwear around his knees. I tried to stop him but he practically ran away from me when I called to him. That's when I put it together. He panicked because I saw him leaving Fledge's room in that state, but he didn't have the balls to confront me about it so he just ran away. I was tempted to rush to Link with the good news but pretty soon these two came out and lead me here." She looked past Zelda to Fledge and Keet. "Been having some fun with Pipit?" she called. "I'm sure everyone will be just delighted to hear all about it. I'm heading over to Link's now."

There was a moment of terse silence, and then Zelda spat, "The hell you are."

She grabbed Karane by the shoulders and slammed her head against the doorframe. Karane slid to the ground in an unmoving heap. Peatrice squealed, watching in horror. Fledge jumped to help Zelda as she tried to pick up Karane's unconscious body, and the two of them set her gently into Zelda's closet.

"We've got to go. I don't know how long she'll be out, but we can't have her fucking this up. The situation is delicate enough as it is."

Keet looked faint. "You just knocked her out. How did you do that?"

"I am training to be a knight, dear. We've learned a thing or two in my higher level combat skills course." She looked to Peatrice, who cowered against the opposite hallway wall. "Peatrice, you've got to choose now between the friends who love you and this controlling, psychotic bitch."

Fledge went to Peatrice and took her hand. "Peatrice, please come with us. I miss you, the old you I used to know. I don't know if you thought I would turn against you after what happened between you and Link, but it's totally fine with me. It's in the past. I know I had a crush on him as well, but I've moved on from that now. Please come with us."

She looked intensely conflicted, glancing sheepishly at the closet door that concealed Karane before looking back to Fledge. "Fledge, I… I want to. I really do. I miss you too. But, Karane only wants to help me."

"What? How is she trying to help you? By getting revenge on him? Peatrice, how does destroyed our friend group help you? Or any of us? You and Link could have moved on. Hell, we all thought you had moved on. But this? All because of that?"

"We did move on, but… then what happened to her with Pipit… so soon after what happened between me and Link… I couldn't leave her… I knew she needed a friend."

"This is friendship? Sitting back to watch as someone tries to tear us apart? We were your friends. We still could be. Just come with us now."

She glanced between him and the closet door hesitantly. "Oh, Fledge…"

He expected to feel tears behind his eyes as they poured from hers, but none came. Instead, his face grew stony and his heart cold, and he knew that she had made her choice. It startled him, but he was proud of the strength he felt inside, a sensation with which he was unfamiliar.

"Fine," he barked. "We've got to go." He nodded to Zelda and followed a step behind her toward Link's room, Keet at his side. Though he didn't look back, he could feel Peatrice's eyes on his retreating figure.


	25. How Much This Could Hurt

Imagination that – thank you for the review! I've really tried to focus more on the characters in this story instead of just getting through the plot which is kinda how it felt writing NDIL, and I guess that's why the plot isn't all that strong. Back in the early days I thought this would just be a few chapters that were really just about Fledge moving on from Link, but it's become a lot more than that. Zelda hasn't really had a part in this story as much, but I think you can definitely expect a sequel from her POV (the only reason Ravio was mentioned in this story was just to set up the premise of his existence for the next story).

ReluctantHero (regarding your reviews both here and to NDIL) – thank you for all of your reviews! I love it when my regulars give me feedback consistently throughout a story! The Karane/Peatrice conflict will sort itself out shortly, never fear. Also, I do indeed have an idea as to how Zelda will avoid punishment for knocking Karane out (just a guilty pleasure on my part to have her do that because I hate Karane). NOW, regarding Link's violence (is it safe to assume this was your problem with NDIL and the review you didn't but should have sent to me? I can't imagine what else in chapter nine would be inflammatory)…. I know you like characters who are written in character, as do I, but if you go back and play the game - well, Link isn't exactly Mr. Peaceful Diplomat…. Even if you ignore the thousands of monsters he slaughtered, he was easily angered by Ghirahim to the point of violence, was ready to kill Batreaux just for living, and generally looked and acted so violent that the first reaction of pretty much every race or character Link met during the quest was to say "please don't hurt me"….All this, combined with my own ideas about Link's character as the author, leads me to characterize Link as a hotheaded teenager – yes, maybe his fists sometimes get ahead of his thoughts but that's because he is quick to anger but quick to forgive. In the instance of him knocking Groose on his ass in Chapter 9 of NDIL, this immediately followed verbal abuse from Groose, and was in retribution for Groose beating one of his friends to a bloody pulp… so I can't help feel that it was justified. If that wasn't the reason you got hung up on chapter nine, then I missed something big and need you to send me that scathing review (honestly I'd love to read it anyway - I promise I can take it).

To all – I've been thinking about ending on chapter 30 (maybe with another dreamy interlude) so I think we'll wrap this up by the weekend! Please review if you haven't to give me your thoughts!

* * *

"Zelda, wait!" Fledge called, breathless as he attempted to keep up with her. She was on a mission, tearing through the dorms towards Link's room without a glance backwards to the boys behind her. However, she stopped on Fledge's insistence.

"What? Karane won't be out for much longer than a few minutes. We've got to hurry."

Fledge gasped for breath. "It won't be enough to just tell Link about Pipit. He'll go to confront Pipit, and Pipit will spin some lie to get himself out of it, just like he did last time."

"Last time?"

"He told this story about how he'd been forced into this awful position by Karane and then Keet was demanding a relationship and he'd been caught in the middle just hoping for a quiet resolution, but it was all bullshit. He just wanted to fuck Keet and Link at the same time. He told me he's really turned on by sex he knows he's not supposed to be having."

She rolled her eyes, groaning in frustration. "Yeah, I figured as much. I knew he couldn't be as perfect as Link thought he was. But what else am I supposed to do? Just not tell Link?"

"No," Fledge said, glancing at Keet, "You've got to let him find Pipit in the act."

Following his gaze to Keet, her eyes suddenly widened. "You mean…?" He nodded. "Keet, how would you like to seduce Pipit one last time for the purposes of exposing him as an indecent waste of flesh and air?"

Keet looked to Fledge. "What? How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Go in, apologize for my behavior and tell him that we had a big fight about it. Say that you really wanted to feel his dick up your ass again, and he'll take it from there."

"You're okay with that?" Keet stuttered, sounding concerned and nervous. "Me fucking Pipit again? Just until you catch us?"

"Just don't have too much fun," Fledge warned jokingly.

Smirking tentatively, Keet kissed him. "I'll think of you the whole time." Then, he hurried ahead to Pipit's room, leaving Fledge grinning behind him.

"No 'I love you'?" Zelda asked mockingly.

He scoffed. "No indeed. Not for quite some time, if I have anything to say about it. We've known each other for like a week, and we just sort of made it official today. If there's one thing I'm not going to do, it's rush into a relationship thinking I'm in love only to have it fall apart after a few weeks."

"Well, Link and Pipit were best friends for years before. I guess Link thought things would be the same if he and Pipit started dating."

Fledge chuckled wistfully. "And look where we are now."

"Speaking of which, we'd better go. How big of a head start do you think Keet needs?"

"Knowing Pipit, I'd say maybe ten seconds. Come on, by the time we get to Link's room, explain everything that's going on, and then take him to Pipit's room, Keet will have had plenty of time."

The two started off again, Zelda at a slightly more sedate pace in the interest of preserving Keet's head start. She glanced behind them every so often, and each time she did Fledge noticed her stride would quicken just a little bit. They soldiered on, and these backward glances became more frequent. Eventually, he was nearly jogging to keep up with her.

"Checking for Karane?" he guessed as they neared Link's dorm.

"Yeah. I don't know how long she'll be out."

"You'll have to deal with her eventually, you know. I mean, you did kind of assault her and then hide her in your closet. She's not going to take that lying down."

Zelda rolled her eyes. "I know, I'm just hoping I bought us enough time to sort this mess out without her interfering. She's not exactly known for making things any easier."

"And what if she goes to Headmaster Gaepora?"

"Oh, she won't. I mean, she's gonna wake up and she'll be pissed. She knows exactly where we're going so it's not like she'll have to track us down. If she doesn't wake up until after this is over, she'll find me in my dorm room and I'll deal with her then."

She reached out to knock on Link's door, but Fledge stopped her. In a low voice, he asked, "What are we saying to Link? Are we telling him everything upfront and then letting him go to Pipit or are we just taking him to Pipit's?"

"Well, what do you think we should do?"

He paused for a moment, thinking it over. "If we tell him first, we have the advantage over Pipit later. If Pipit makes up some story on the spot, Link will already have the truth in his mind. I think we should tell him we sent Keet as well."

"No," Zelda countered immediately. "I know you want to protect Keet, but I don't want Link to think we manipulated him into this. If we're doing this, it needs to be genuine, so that this is the end of it. I don't want Pipit to hurt Link any more, and if that means Link gets a slap to the face when he sees undeniably that Pipit is cheating on him then so be it. We'll be here for him when this is all over."

Fledge bit his lip. "Okay. But if he lashes out at me and Keet later, it's your job to help persuade him that I only ever wanted to protect him."

"I mean, he's going to be angry with you Fledge. And probably me too. This isn't going to be easy for him to swallow, and I'm not sure if we're really doing the right thing here anyway."

"What other choice do we have, Zelda? Are we supposed to just let him continue like this with Pipit? How long do you think that will last? They've only been together for a few weeks. Imagine how much worse this would hurt him in a few years."

She nodded, resigned. "You're right. Okay." With that, she knocked on Link's door.

There was a shuffling of movement from inside, and then the door swung open. Link stood to one side wearing a pair of loose trousers that hung tantalizingly low around his waist and squinted furiously at the light from the hallway. His own room was dark, and Fledge thought maybe Link kept it so to avoid looking at the mess of dirty clothes and trash that littered the floor. His blanket had been thrown across his desk, knocking his school supplies askew, and there were no pillows in sight, leaving his bed bare. His closet door hung open and Fledge peered inside, trying to make sense of the chaos within.

"Sorry about the mess," Link muttered.

Zelda nervously glanced to Fledge, who caught her eye. He could tell she was unsure how to proceed. "Link, do you know where Pipit is?"

He frowned. "I mean, he was in here a few hours ago. Why?"

Fledge caught her eye again, and she took a deep breath before continuing. "Well, we think he's cheating on you. We know he's cheating on you," she amended.


	26. What This Looks Like

FIRST THINGS FIRST – ReluctantHero, let me address the biggest problem with your two successive reviews: do not ever tell me that Remus Lupin is unsexy. Remus Lupin is the smartest, sweetest, most misunderstood, and above all sexiest werewolf ever created, and he is my favorite Harry Potter (and one half of my OTP – WolfStar).

Moving on. While I understand your point about judging Keet, I stand by Link's characterization because the absolute most important thing I've tried to communicate in these two stories is that being manipulative is WRONG. I'm not saying that Keet was trying to manipulate Link when he saw Keet's poverty, but I am trying to show that Link is constantly subject to mental conditioning that deprives him of the liberty to think for himself, which is why he always makes his best decisions when he's alone. I'm trying not beat it into your head but I am trying to show this type of manipulative conditioning as realistic, so yes, sometimes it goes unpunished. Not to spoil anything, but (as you pointed out) this story can't exactly end well, which is why I'm planning on a sequel. I never planned for NDIL to be stand-alone because I wanted to tear Pipit's proverbial rug of love out from beneath your feet. So, while in a shallow way I think Pipit meant all of his expressions of love (the muffin room, the ring), he's not a good guy at heart (and he knows it, and feels quite guilty about it). Some people can't help but be manipulative dickheads.

As I hinted to above, you're partly right about the shit hitting the fan, but I don't think it will all end in the way you'd expect. I've been working to build a plot on what I'd already produced without having much of a story in mind, and I think it will come together nicely. Oh, and thank you for the reviews, through which I've gleaned some surprising new insight into my characterization (particularly of Link).

* * *

Link blatantly did not register what Zelda had said. He stood before them, gazing at her numbly with his mouth hanging open. Fledge couldn't see the life in his eyes.

"What?" he grunted.

"Link, Pipit is cheating on you… again." Zelda winced, uncertain what to expect from the half-naked boy in front of her, but Link just continued to stare at her. Fledge stepped forward to intervene.

"Are you alright Link?" There was a nod. "Do you remember what we talked about the other night? About the tension you felt between you and Pipit?" Another nod, slightly more hesitant. "Well, Zelda and I have been keeping a close watch on the situation because we don't want you to get hurt, and we found out that Pipit is cheating."

There was a moment of heavy silence, and then Link rubbed his face in exasperation. "Really? Pipit's cheating? Again? So soon after all that shit we went through? Is this a fucking joke?"

Zelda shook her head gravely. "No, we're pretty sure."

He glared at her, and in a few short seconds Fledge saw thousands of emotions flash across his face as he finally processed what they were saying. His muscles tensed, and Fledge felt that Zelda was on edge, ready to take whatever Link threw at her. However, he just continued to stare at her as the pain grew behind his eyes, and a single tear fell onto his cheek.

"I don't believe you," he whispered. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted when Link screamed, "I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" He sunk to his knees, sobbing. Fledge fell after him and took his hands, but Link yanked them away. "How can I believe you?"

"Link," he started soothingly, "I don't know what's going through your mind right now but I want you to know that we're here for you, and we want what's best for you. We thought it would be better to tell you now then to let it continue."

"Why would he do this?" Link asked desperately, his voice cracking. Tears welled in Fledge's eyes as he felt his friend's pain. "I thought we had everything figured out. I thought we would be best friends forever. I thought he loved me."

He pulled off a ring Fledge had never particularly noticed before, a simple silver band, and held it close to his face as his tears flowed. Then, he pressed it into Fledge's hand.

"Who is it with? Who's he getting together with?"

Fledge stood and caught Zelda's eye uncertainly. "We don't know," she lied. "But we think he's with them now. I think it's best that you see it for yourself."

Clenching his jaw, Link stood abruptly, and Fledge saw the change in his eyes as the pain at Pipit's betrayal became anger that fueled Link with a new energy. He charged past them without a word and was on his way to Pipit's dorm room. Fledge trailed behind him with Zelda.

He held the ring Link had given him in his hand, looking at it curiously as they walked in silence. It was inscribed with a series of etched markings that looked like the language of the Sacred Realm and seemed to sparkle as they caught the light. He supposed Pipit had given it to Link as a symbol of his love, and pocketed it so that, when the time came, he could restore it to its proper owner.

In no time at all, they reached Pipit's room. Link froze for a moment outside the door, and Fledge could here Pipit's strong voice emanating from within. He prepared himself mentally for whatever image was awaiting him as Link threw open the door.

Pipit sat at the edge of his bed with his legs spread wide, his trousers around his ankles and his shirt thrown onto the floor. Keet was fully clothed, kneeling before the other boy.

Bracing himself against the bed with one hand, Pipit used the other to hold Keet's head steady as he thrust his cock upwards into the boy's mouth. He groaned carnally as Keet gagged, taking his full length into his throat. When the door opened, however, Pipit froze, staring at them like a deer in headlights, his cheeks flush with interrupted pleasure.

Keet sat up and immediately looked to Fledge, whose hand had jumped to his unrequited arousal at the sight.

The room was deathly quiet.

Then Pipit jumped up, pushing Keet aside roughly and desperately pulling his trousers up in a disastrous attempt to conceal his fully erect arousal. "I can explain," he offered lamely. Fledge could almost hear the cogs in his head working as he attempted to spin a plausible story.

Link said nothing. Fledge couldn't see his face, but he could feel the fury emanating from the boy in waves.

"I-I-I p-promise, this – this isn't what it looks like."

"What does it look like, Pipit?" Link asked, his voice quavering as he held back his anger.

"It's just – we were just – Keet, he – I didn't mean – we," Pipit stammered as he struggled to connect all the pieces together in an explanation. He suddenly turned on Keet. "He forced himself on me! He said he couldn't live without me, and then – and then he threw me back onto the bed like this. You walked in at just the wrong moment."

"That isn't what this looks like," Link intoned.

Pipit stepped towards him. "Link, please – I swear, I can explain all this. Why don't we go somewhere and we can talk all of this over."

Link stepped back. "No. That's over. There's no way you can make up some bullshit to get out of this. There's no way you can play the victim now, Pipit. I may have forgiven you before, but how many times do you think you'll be able to pull the wool over my eyes before I have the sense to notice?"

"No! No, this isn't that," Pipit pleaded desperately. "This is something else, please, just let me talk to you."

"No," answered a sudden and unexpected voice from over Fledge's shoulder, "Why don't you let me talk?"


	27. The Long Story

Fledge turned and saw Groose standing in the doorway.

A terse silence fell over the room as they glared at this unwelcome intrusion. Conscious that they were typically united against Groose, Fledge felt the tension mount in his friends as they realized their group was no match for Groose's destructive power in its broken state.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Groose?" Zelda demanded, moving to block his entry. She undeniably had more individual power over Groose then any other member of the group.

He smirked at her as she stood before him, cutting off his access to the room. "Zelda, I'm just here to check up on all of my good friends. I heard some drama and I hurried over to make sure everyone is alright." Fledge caught his eye, and his sly smirk grew more exaggerated. "Fledge! How have you been, buddy? Long time no see, am I right?"

"Don't fucking talk to him," Link snarled. Fledge looked him in surprise, and he saw Groose's head turn as well.

Link was seething, and Fledge was genuinely fearful for a moment that he might snap and attack one of them. The muscles in his face and neck were taught as he tried to control his anger, and a sheen of sweat shone from his forehead. His eyes were wide and his nostrils flared with every breath as his shoulders heaved.

"Ah, Link! Just the man I wanted to see." Groose opened his hands, a twisted smile contorting his face as he stepped forward, pushing past Zelda. He flexed the muscles in his vast arms as he moved around her, attempting to intimidate her into submission. Fledge waited, but she allowed him to pass. He caught her eye and she shot him a desperate look that clearly communicated, _what the hell am I supposed to do?_

"What the fuck do you want?"

"I just wanted to see if your relationship had fallen apart yet." He looked over Pipit, and Fledge followed his gaze, taking in the other boy's disheveled state; the head of his cock came up over the edge of his trousers and his cheeks were flush with pleasure. Keet stood behind him, his hair a mess, but no bulge was evident in his trousers and he looked almost upset. "It seems as though it has," Groose continued.

"Fuck off, Groose. Why would you care about my relationships?"

Groose laughed. A real, genuine laugh. As though everyone else in the room had missed something immensely funny about this question.

"That's a long story. It's a good story, don't get me wrong, and a funny one, but it is long." He glanced at Zelda and mimed stroking his cock, eliciting a grimace of disgust that only further stoked his humor. "Maybe you'd be interested to know the details?"

Link said nothing.

"I'll take that as a yes." Groose lowered himself onto the bed, sitting precisely where Pipit had been sitting just a minute before.

"Once, I fucked this girl. She was one of dozens, maybe hundreds, but something about her struck me. She had long blonde hair and she screamed when I raked my fingers through it. She had soft, petite lips that opened wide enough to swallow anything I wanted. She was small and seemed fragile, but could endure everything I had to offer. She was quiet and unassuming… until you got her alone, that is. And she always did anything that I asked."

Winking suggestively to Fledge, he rubbed his hands across his thighs. "And I thought that, just maybe, this was the girl for me. This was the only girl I'd ever been with who was perfect in every way. I thought I loved her."

He laid back on Pipit's bed, supposedly lost in his memory, as if he were narrating some fairy tale. "We had a lot of fun, but, afterward, she told me that it hadn't meant anything to her. We weren't going to work out because she wanted another guy."

"She _crushed_ me," Groose sighed dramatically, clearly enjoying the power he held over the room, "but my plans for revenge were cut short when this other guy rejected her. Instead of coming back to apologize as she should have done, she decided she was done with men for good. And that was the end of my dream to be with her."

Fledge was nauseated by the over-the-top manner in which Groose spoke, finding it hard to believe that he was ever capable of loving anything past his own reflection.

"But then, her friend came to me and told me, disgusted, about her choice to go for other girls instead." He sat up, looking conspiratorial. "Now, I'm only mortal. The thought of two girls having a good time on top of me is something I can't easily resist. So, I agreed to help her friend teach the guy who rejected her a lesson, thinking that, if she saw what I'd done for her, she'd come back to me and maybe bring a hot girlfriend with her."

Link looked like he was ready to explode. "Groose, that happened months ago. Just fucking let it go."

"Oh, it's too late for that, Link," he said slyly. "Because all of the shit you've been through with Pipit? That all started when you turned Peatrice down and ruined my shot with her. But now she'll thank me."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Groose? Okay, we get it, you wanted to fuck Peatrice, she wanted Link but couldn't have him, then she rejected you as well. That was months ago." Zelda stepped up to Fledge's shoulder as she questioned him.

"Ah, but Karane and I masterminded this little plan to put everything back in its place. We needed something that would ultimately destroy all of Link's future romantic prospects. Something that would corrupt his relationship and ruin the chances of any possible future relationships. Something like… Keet."

All eyes looked immediately to Keet, who stood alone in the corner beside Pipit's desk. Fledge saw confusion and fear flash through his eyes. "What? Me?"

"Oh yeah," Groose affirmed, grinning broadly. "Karane told me all about your little… problem, Pipit. She knew you were a little fag all along, and she introduced you to Keet knowing that he would easily seduce you. After the breakup, we watched you start fucking Link while you still had Keet's shit under your fingernails, and we knew it was just a matter of time before he found out. And then he did."

Groose paused for a moment, relishing the five pairs of eyes that followed him as he told his story.

"I have to admit, I didn't expect you to salvage your relationship the first time, but somehow you convinced Link that you were the victim." Link glared vehemently at Pipit. "But Karane assured me it would just be a matter of time before you pushed him too far or tried his hand with another guy."

He turned to Link. "Earlier, we'd thought to eliminate the threat Fledge posed to our plan by doing our best to tear your friendship apart. When I – er – someone beat the shit out of him, we thought he would blame you. When he didn't, we realized he was stronger than we thought. The peaceful solution came to us naturally and unexpectedly; by getting together with Keet, that eliminated the only other two fags in Skyloft."

He stood up ponderously. "You get it? It was our goal all along to make sure you'd never have a chance of finding another relationship again."

Link stood at the center of the room, face-to-face with Groose, while Pipit, Keet, Zelda, and Fledge stood around the edges. Waves of rage seemed to emanate from his very skin, and every muscle in his body was clenched in fury. In a dangerously quiet voice, he spoke directly to Groose. "You did all this just because I rejected Peatrice… because I'm gay?"

"That's what you get, really. I mean, she's hot, dude. Don't get me wrong, fucking Karane on the side has been nice, but I can't believe you passed Peatrice up."

"And Karane went along with this?" Link spat.

Groose chuckled. He seemed to either be remarkably unaware of the danger of receiving a fist to the face at any moment or was flippantly ignoring this possibility. "She didn't just go along with it. She was the brains of the operation. I was just in it to get some ass." He glanced to the doorway. "Speaking of which..."

Karane stood in the doorway, and Fledge could see Peatrice standing against the opposite hallway wall as if she definitely did not want to be anywhere near any of them.

Stalking through the doorway, Karane glared at Zelda. "You fucking bitch. You wait until your daddy hears about this."

"Wait, what happened?" Groose interjected.

"SHE FUCKING KNOCKED ME OUT," Karane shouted, showing him a large bruise that had spread across her forehead. Turning back the Zelda, she said, "Oh, you're gonna get it now, though. You're all fucking done. All of you fucking gays." She looked directly at Fledge. "It's not fucking natural."

He glared straight back at her, and she almost seemed to retreat as she saw the strength in his eye. "At least I care about my friends," he said quietly, with measured breaths.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she laughed. "All this was for Peatrice. This was all because I want her to be happy."

Fledge stepped forward, facing off with Karane. He was taller than her. "Listen to me," he commanded forcefully. "I know Peatrice, and she is not going to be happy after you tear your old group of friends apart. If I had to guess, I'd say that's why she's hiding from you in the hallway." He looked to her through the door. She did not move, but a tear fell from her cheek.

Karane brought herself dangerously close to Fledge. "If I didn't do this for Peatrice, then who was it for?"

"For you," he spat with disgust. "You want Pipit back."

Fledge suddenly felt a sharp sting across his cheek as she slapped him. "OH FUCK NO," he heard Zelda shout, but he put his hand up to stop her.

Looking Karane in the face, he smiled, catching the surprise register in her eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, you did us a favor, Karane. You exposed Pipit as an asshole, and now I won't have to watch from the sidelines as he hurts one of my best friends. We don't have to deal with your toxic bitchy attitude anymore. I met Keet, the real person, not the sex toy you thought he was. And, even if you did manage to break Link and Pipit up, Link still has a group of friends who love him. What do you have now?"

"I told you, I have my best friend. I have Peatrice."

"Oh, you do?"

They both looked to Peatrice, and she started walking towards them. She came to stop, however, at Fledge's side, taking his hand happily.

"Fuck you, Karane. Fledge is right, right about everything. This was never about me. This was about you. You're a selfish, conceited bitch."

Karane's jaw dropped, and she looked genuinely taken aback. Fledge's smirk widened.

Zelda stepped toward her. "Why don't you leave, Karane, while you still have some dignity."

Glaring at her, Karane shouted, "WHY DON'T YOU JUST FUCK OFF?" Another sharp slap sounded and Zelda screamed, surging forward to retaliate, but suddenly Pipit was between them.

"STOP!" he called. "Karane, if I go with you, can we forget about all this? Will you leave them alone, you won't go to Zelda's dad, and you'll stop harassing Link?"

She looked at him in surprise. He kissed her. She seemed to melt into it, but Fledge could easily see the disgust throughout Pipit's body. When he pulled away, the ghost of a grimace haunted his face. "What do you say? Can we just leave all this behind?"

Nodding vaguely, she kissed him again with more passion. "Yes," she almost sobbed, "that's all I wanted. I just wanted you." Pipit did not return the kiss, remaining stone-faced. As she spoke, Pipit steered her to the door. He stopped at the edge, looking back at Link, and the two maintained an extended period of eye contact before Pipit disappeared.

They were silent for a moment, trying to digest what had just occurred.

Then Groose sighed loudly, reminding them all of his presence among them. "Well," he groaned, "Maybe we should do the same?"

Fledge realized he was speaking to Peatrice, holding his hand out to her. She looked mildly uncomfortable. "Why would I go with you?"

"W-What?" he asked, bewildered.

"You just told us all that you've been doing your best for the last few months to tear us apart from within, and then you expect me to just fuck you?"

Groose blinked, obviously confused. "But – I thought – after I showed you – how much I cared about you – that you'd maybe…"

"You care about me? You've got a funny way of showing it."

"But… I thought… I thought I loved you."

She rolled her eyes, looking him over with disgust but also pity. She caught Fledge's eye and he shook his head imperceptibly, but she ignored him. "Groose, I'll go with you now and we'll _talk_. I'm not making any promises." She strode through the doorway and disappeared. Groose glanced around the room before following her eagerly.

Fledge sighed, closing the door behind them. He slide down the door and sat on the floor, sighing. Keet nervously walked past Link and sat beside him. Zelda sat in the floor also, leaning back against Pipit's closet.

Link stood in the center of the room, gazing at the door, motionless.


	28. Closer Than Ever

Link sunk to his knees.

Tears streaked down his face as he gazed at the door. Fledge could feel his desperation permeate the air as he relived what had just happened. His lips came together, forming the name that Fledge recognized easily. _Pipit_.

He sobbed and wiped the tears away before screaming through clenched teeth, releasing the rage he had kept in check during the standoff with Groose and then Karane. Every muscle in his body was taught but he looked physically exhausted. He continued to cry, looking up to the ceiling.

Fledge scooted towards him. "Link, just try to breathe, alright?" he said comfortingly.

The other boy glared at him with ferocity. "Don't fucking talk to me. Your boyfriend, the one I introduced you to, is the reason this happened."

"Keet didn't know," Zelda said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Link almost growled as he turned on her, and she yanked her hand back. "HE'S THE REASON MY LIFE IS FALLING APART!" he screamed through his tears.

Fledge grimaced. "Link, it wasn't his fault! Nobody knew about this, nobody saw this coming, alright?"

"Why are you defending him? Did you not see him in here when I opened the door? Or did he tell you some bullshit story that makes him seem like the victim? Because, speaking from experience, I can tell you that it's probably some fucking bullshit."

Fledge glanced at Zelda, catching her eye uncertainly for just a moment. "Link, we already knew Keet was here. I asked him to come here ahead of us so we could prove to you what Pipit was doing."

Link stared at him. His mouth formed several words that were inaudible.

"But don't you see why I did it? I was only trying to protect you, Link. I only want you to be happy, and I didn't want to see Pipit hurt you again. I knew we couldn't let this continue, and the only way to put a stop to it once and for all was to show you the real Pipit."

As he desperately tried to justify his actions, Link only continued to stare at him blindly.

"Link, I'm so sorry about all of this. I only want what's best for you, and I've always done my best to be here for you. We've always been friends, and it was hard for me to accept how I felt about you and then move on, and when you first found out that Pipit was cheating it wasn't easy for me to deal with, and –"

"WASN'T EASY FOR _YOU_ TO DEAL WITH? TELL ME ABOUT IT?"

"Link, I'm sorry! I'm just confused, and I don't know what to say, but all I can say is that I love you and I care about you and everything I've done I've done for you." He wiped the tears from his eyes. "I just wanted you to be happy."

Fledge sobbed as he watched Link, who glared at him. Then, unexpectedly, he turned to Keet.

"Doesn't it bother you that he just used you to prove that my boyfriend was cheating? Isn't that sort of ironic? Do you just spread your legs on command because its habit by now?"

Keet looked at him for a long time before he answered. "Link, if Fledge has taught me one thing, it's that sex isn't all that important. Sure, I've fucked a lot of guys, but that only means something if I let it. I did what I did to help Fledge help you, not for me."

He scooted forward to sit beside Fledge, taking his hand. Link watched him for a long time as they waited in silence.

"Why did Peatrice go with Groose?" Link asked Zelda out of nowhere. "I mean, he's an asshole. Why would she ever go with him when she could have stayed with us?"

Fledge breathed a sigh of relief. He recognized this as the Link he knew, the Link he loved, returning. He knew everything wouldn't be restored back to normal right away, but he also was confident that they would recover from this and move on.

Zelda smiled, and Fledge knew she was thinking the same thing. "You know Peatrice, she just wanted to avoid more conflict. I'm guessing she'll fuck him again out of pity and then hopefully figures out a way to dump him for good. She knows as well as any of us that Groose doesn't deserve her."

She stood up, and pulled Link up after her.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I don't want to spend another minute in this room."

Fledge watched Link look around sadly, obviously remembering his better memories with Pipit. His gaze lingered on the bed, and took a deep, shuddering breath as he turned away.

"Yeah," he agreed, "let's go. I'm never coming back here."

Zelda led the way as the four of them left Pipit's room bereft and empty. Fledge watched Zelda take Link's hand and felt Keet's in his own. He wrapped his fingers through the other boy's, and felt closer than ever to him. They went separate ways, Zelda taking Link back to her room while Fledge walked with Keet out into the night.


	29. Only Just Beginning

LOVELIES – So this is the last real chapter! I decided to focus on Fledge and Keet as opposed to Link in terms of reacting to the mess with Groose and Karane and Pipit and them, primarily because Fledge is really the main character of this story. Also, Link wasn't really given an opportunity to go off on Pipit (the real, emotional source of his anger), so he internalized that frustration (to manifest itself at a later date in the sequel). Instead, you get cute Fleet fluff, which was my original plan for this entire story!

* * *

Still trying to wrap his head around the evening's events, Fledge followed Keet as they walked around the edge of the island towards the Statue of the Goddess.

The night was quiet. Stars twinkled above them peacefully, and a soft breeze wafted through the trees in waves, jostling the leaves just enough to create calming background noise. A violent uproar of noise would have likely driven them indoors, while open silence set Fledge's anxieties on edge. The rush of the trees, however, was soothing, a pleasant reminder that they were safe at home. It was as though the air around them was breathing.

He allowed himself to be led by hand through the trees in silence, looking up at the stars as they shone back. Soon, they ended up at a drop off. Keet sat, dangling his legs over the edge, and Fledge followed suit. They simply _were_ , side by side, looking into the infinite stretch of night sky before them.

After a moment, he noticed Keet watching him.

"What?" he asked bashfully, smiling in spite of himself.

Keet's lips twitched, but he couldn't shake the somber expression he wore. Fledge frowned, leaning toward the other boy. "What's wrong, Keet?"

Sighing, Keet rubbed his forehead. "I can't help believe that what Link said was right. I can't believe how easy it was for me. In no time at all, I had his trousers on the floor and his dick in my mouth. It just comes naturally to me." He looked directly at Fledge. "Does that make me a bad person?"

Fledge held his gaze for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, letting the cool nighttime air flow through his lungs and cleanse his heart. "It doesn't matter," he said.

"Come on, Fledge, I didn't really mean that. It just came out because I didn't want to admit how close to home Link was when he said those things to me."

"No," Fledge responded. "You were right. Sure, if you let that part of you become the primary part of who you are, then it matters a lot, but that's not all of who you are. There's so much more to you then that. You know it, I know it, even Link knows it. It only means something if you let it."

"But what if I can't help but let it," Keet said, his voice quavering like a child's. "What if I don't know what else there is to me that makes that part of me less important."

Fledge leaned over and kissed him, softly and hopefully, quieting the self-doubt that was roiling within him. As they kissed, he tried to let go of everything that had happened, not just with Pipit and Link but with Groose and Karane and Peatrice as well. He lost himself to the kiss, reminding himself that this was the most important thing in his life, this was his focus, this was his point of origin, and without this, nothing else mattered.

"No one has ever said so much to me in one kiss before," Keet muttered as they broke apart.

Fledge wrapped his arm around the smaller boy's shoulders. "There is so much more to you then you know. You said earlier that I'd taught you that sex wasn't that important, but I feel like I've learned that from you." He was quiet for a moment. "I mean, I remember the first time I ever saw you, at the Fall Festival."

Keet laughed. "Oh Goddess! That's seems like so long ago."

"You were hardly wearing anything," Fledge continued, to more laughter, "And you were decidedly hot. But I knew, even then, that there was something different about you. If I hadn't felt that then, I wouldn't have agreed to meet you again."

"That was a pretty awkward date," Keet reminisced. "I don't think Link ever really intended for us to end up together."

"No," Fledge agreed, "I think we surprised everyone with that. I know I surprised myself. But, like I said, I knew from day one that there was something different about you, some other reason I was attracted to you that I was completely unfamiliar with." He paused again, looking out into the night. "But here we are," he murmured.

"Here we are," Keet agreed.

"Maybe we'll outlast Pipit and Link. I mean, I don't know of any secret plots to break us up."

Keet laughed. "If we outlast Pipit and Link, it'll be because you're better than the two of them put together." They shared another kiss. "I don't deserve you," he murmured softly.

Rolling his eyes, Fledge kissed him again. "Don't be stupid. After everything you've been through, you deserve someone much better than me."

Keet grinned again, snaking his arm around Fledge's waist. "Yeah, I guess you'll have to do for now, though."

The two kissed again under the watchful eyes of the stars.

Their love story was only just beginning.


End file.
